TAMPA - The University of South Florida women's basketball team used a 20-4 run in the first half to blow its game open and cruise to a dominating 68-35 win over in-state foe North Florida this afternoon at the Sun Dome.

The Bulls improve to 6-4 on the year while the Ospreys drop to 1-7 on the season.

USF, guided by 19 first half points by Andrea Smith, led 37-17 at the intermission and held North Florida without a field goal for the final 7:34 of the first stanza.

That stretch would extend into the second half as the Bulls scored the first six points of the final 20 minutes of action, before Mergan Peterson would finally hit a field goal for the Ospreys, draining a three with 16:10 left in the game. That would be the first field goal for UNF since Brittany Kirkland hit a layup at the 7:34 mark of the first half. By that time, however, the game would be well out of reach.

The Bulls would shoot 39.3 percent (24-61) from the field on the day and held the Ospreys to just 21.3 percent shooting from the floor. The "green and gold" would share the ball well dishing out 13 assists on their 24 made field goals. 

In addition, USF forced the Ospreys into 27 turnovers in the contest leading to 25 points. The Bulls also dominated the paint outscoring North Florida 28-10 in the lane.

In addition to Smith's 19 points, Daleisha Carn added 14 points on 6-11 shooting from the field off the bench. She also grabbed five rebounds, all coming on the offensive glass.
 
Porche Grant netted eight points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

Kirkland scored 11 points for UNF in a losing effort. 

The Bulls will close out their non-conference home schedule on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. when it butts heads with Atlantic Coast Conference foe Wake Forest. That game will be televised live in the Tampa Bay area on Bright House Sports Network.