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If you weren't there ...
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The University of South Florida women's basketball team had all five starters score in double figures to lead the Bulls over Saint Francis (Pa.), 86-74, Thursday afternoon at the Sun Dome.
Melissa Dalembert (14 points, 13 rebounds), Jessica Lawson (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Jasmine Wynne (12 points, 12 assists) all posted double-doubles.
Janae Stokes (15 points) and Sequoyah Griffin (10 points) also contributed to the scoring effort as USF shot 55.6 percent from the floor. |
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Saint Francis
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38 |
36 |
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74 |
| USF |
41 |
45 |
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86 |
| Scoring Leaders |
| Player |
FG-A
|
3FG-A
|
FT-A
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TP
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| Saint Francis - Lilley |
6-8 |
3-3 |
3-4 |
18 |
| USF - Lawson |
9-12 |
0-0 |
0-1 |
18 |
| Rebounding Leaders |
| Player |
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| Saint Francis - Lilley |
2 |
8 |
10 |
| USF - Dalembert |
5 |
8 |
13 |
| Misc. Leaders |
| Player |
Steals
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Assists
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Blocks
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| Saint Francis - Gibbs |
2 |
1 |
0 |
| USF - Wynne |
1 |
12 |
0 |
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TAMPA - The University of South Florida women's basketball team placed all five starters in double figures - including three who also recorded double-doubles - and overcame a seven-point first half deficit en route to an 86-74 win over Saint Francis (Pa.) in both schools' final non-conference game of the regular season.
Jessica Lawson poured in a team-high 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Bulls. Melissa Dalembert netted 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Jasmine Wynne chipped in with 12 points and a career-high 12 assists in the win.
USF (9-4) knew coming in that it would be in for a tough test from the Red Flash (4-7) who had won two straight, and had lost by just five points to BIG EAST foe Pittsburgh and Mid-America power Bowling Green earlier in the season.
The Bulls jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead on a Sequoyah Griffin lay-up just over a minute into the contest off one of Wynne's 12 assists.
Saint Francis would stay in the game and, after two tied, took its first lead of the contest, 16-13, on a three-point shot by Nickia Gibbs with 12:11 left in the first half.
The Red Flash would push their lead to a game-high seven points, 20-13, on another jumper by Gibbs with 11:12 left on the clock in the first stanza.
The Bulls, however, would use a 26-18 run to take the lead for good, 39-38, on a three-pointer by Janae Stokes with 51 seconds left before the intermission. USF would eventually take a 41-38 lead into the locker room at the break.
In the second half, the Bulls pushed its lead to 10 points, 54-44, four-and-a-half minutes in when Wynne hit a jumper capping off a 12-6 run to start the second half.
Saint Francis would keep clawing away to stay in the contest, and eventually cut the Bulls' 10-point lead to three, 61-58, with 9:32 in the game on an eight-foot jumper by Brittany Lilley.
That would be as close as the Red Flash would get as Dalembert connected on both ends of a two-shot free throw to give USF a 10-point lead, 71-61 with 6:21 left, and a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
In addition to Lawson, Dalembert and Wynne, Janae Stokes chipped in with 15 points and Griffin added 10 points in the win.
On the night, the Bulls shot 55.6 percent (35-63) from the field marking the second time in four games that they have hit for better than 50 percent from the floor, and their second best shooting performance of the season.
In addition, USF controlled the paint outscoring the Red Flash 40-22 in the paint.
The Bulls will now open BIG EAST Conference play as they travel to Hartford to face defending national champion and current No. 1 Connecticut on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. at the XL Center.
USF will kick off its home BIG EAST slate on Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. whet it butts heads with Georgetown.
Both games can be heard live on 1010 AM CBS Sports Radio or by logging onto GoUSFBulls.com and selecting the BullsVision Premium option.
For ticket information call 1-800-GoBulls.
