TAMPA - The University of South Florida women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss to BIG EAST Conference foe Cincinnati, 57-56, in the final moments of Wednesday's matchup.  

Both teams entered tonight's contest with a 0-1 record in league play.

In the first half, USF struggled to score, shooting a mere 24 percent from the field. The Bulls were led by junior guard Andrea Smith, who had 10 points in the first stanza, and endured nearly a 10-minute stretch where they failed to score a single field goal. 

Smith would hit a jumper, off an assist from Sasha Bernard, with 14:18 left in the first half to pull USF to two points, 11-9. That would be the last field goal that the Bulls would hit until Porche Grant hit a driving lay up with 4:32 left in the half to make the score 27-13 Cincinnati.   

Free throw shooting appeared to be the only aspect of the game that came easy as the Bulls made all of their first-half attempts going 5-5.

While the Bulls failed to find their rhythm, the Bearcats were in control for the entire first half, behind double-digit scoring efforts by Chanel Chisholm and Shareese Ulis.  

Chisholm, who sat out last season after transferring from Vanderbilt, was coming off a career high 20-point performance against Miami (Ohio).

The Bearcats shot an impressive 56 percent from the field and 54 percent from three-point land, amassing a 36-24 lead at halftime.

In the second half, the Bulls caught fire, going on a 20-6 run in the first 10 minutes of the second half, taking their first lead of the game with 10:20 remaining, 42-40, on a lay up by Leondra Doomes-Stephens  

The Bulls' second-half surge was led by Doomes-Stephens, who scored 10 of her 13 points during the final half.  

USF's full court press, which was stagnant in the first half, allowed the Bulls to get back in the game by forcing six Cincinnati turnovers.

The Bulls' valiant second-half effort, however, was thwarted by Cincinnati's persistent Cincinnati offense.  

The Bearcats struggled to match their first-half production, shooting only 20 percent in the second half, but were able to hold off the Bulls with clutch free throw shooting by Bjonee Reaves in the final minute of the game.  

USF held its final lead of the game, 56-55, with 11 seconds remaining, when Grant connected on a lay up off a no-look pass from Wynne. Cincinnati's Bjonee Reaves, however would come right back down the court and go straight to thye basket getting fouled by Grant with six seconds left. She would get the Bearcats' lead back, 57-56, after hitting two free throws to ide the game.

Doomes-Stephens would get one last chance for the game winner getting into the lane, however Reaves would strip the ball from her as time expired. 

In addition to Doomes-Stephens' team-high 13 points, tying a season-high, Smith scored 12 points and Wynne had 11 points to round out the rest of the Bulls' top scorers.

The Bulls hit the road, once again, for a two game road trip starting on Saturday, Jan. 8 at 2 p.m. against Providence. USF will close out the trip at No. 16/23 DePaul on Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 9 p.m. ET. The meeting with the Blue Demons will be televised live on CBS College Sports.