Bulls Kickoff Two Game Road Trip at Rutgers
February 22, 2011 | Women's Basketball
USF at Rutgers
Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2011 | 7:30 p.m. | Louis Brown Athletics Center | New Brunswick, N.J.
1010 AM CBS Sports Radio with Ronan O'Shea (play-by-play)
Game Notes: USF | Rutgers | Updated BIG EAST
Radio: CBS Sports Radio WQYK AM 1010 with Ronan O'Shea (play-by-play).
Internet Audio: www.GoUSFBulls.com
Tickets: For information, call the Rutgers Athletic Ticket Office at 1-866-445-4678.
The Records: USF comes into Wednesday's game with a 10-17 record (1-12 BIG EAST). Rutgers is 15-11 on the year and is 8-5 in the BIG EAST.
Rankings: USF is not ranked in the Associated Press or the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 polls. Rutgers is not receiving votes in the AP poll but is in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25.
The Series: Wednesday's game is the sixth meeting all-time between USF and Rutgers, with the Scarlet Knights holding a 4-1 series lead.
Last Time Out: USF is coming off a 66-55 loss to Louisville on Feb. 19. Rutgers defeated Marquette, 76-55, in Milwaukee, on Feb. 19.
A Look Ahead: USF will travel to Philadelphia to face Villanova on Feb. 26. Rutgers butts heads with West Virginia at home on Feb. 26 at 2 p.m.
The Lowdown
The University of South Florida women's basketball team gets back to work on Wednesday night when it travels to the "Garden State" to face Rutgers ... Tip-off at the Louis Brown Athletic Center is 7:30 p.m. ... Wednesday's game - and all games this season - can be heard on 1010 AM CBS Sports Radio with Ronan O'Shea calling the action and former USF men's basketball standout Andrikk Frazier handling the color commentary (home games only) ... In addition, fans can follow the action via the world wide web by logging onto GoUSFBulls.com and selecting the BullsVision option to get live audio and video streaming ... The meeting with the Scarlet Knights is the first game of a two-game, five day road trip for the Bulls ... Following the game at Rutgers, USF will travel south on the New Jersey Turnpike and head to Philadelphia to face Villanova on Feb. 26 (Noon, BIG EAST Television) ... USF will close out the regular season at home on Feb. 28 against Georgetown (7 p.m.) ... The Bulls are coming off an 66-55 loss to Louisville on Feb. 19 at the Sun Dome ... Andrea Smith led the way for USF with 16 points, while Jasmine Wynne chipped in with a season-high 12 points in the loss ... Leondra Doomes-Stephens and Akila McDonald led the way on the glass with seven rebounds apiece ... On the year, the Bulls are being led by Smith - who is the team's only double-digit scorer - averaging 16.9 points per game ... Smith's twin sister Andrell is second in scoring averaging 8.2 points per contest, and Porche Grant is in third at 7.0 points per game ... Grant also continues to lead the team in rebounding grabbing 8.8 rebounds per game and McDonald leads the Bulls in blocked shots on the year with 33 (1.2 bpg).
The Series vs. Rutgers
Wednesday's game marks the sixth meeting all-time between USF and Rutgers with the Scarlet Knights holding a 4-1 all-time series lead.
The Bulls earned their first win of the series, during the 2008-09 season, in the "Garden State" handing Rutgers a 59-56 loss on Jan. 31, 2009 ... USF is 1-1 all-time at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
Scouting The Scarlet Knights
Rutgers comes into its game with USF with a 15-11 record and an 8-5 slate in BIG EAST play ... The Scarlet Knights have won three of their last five games, however, they have dropped five on their last eight games after starting the season 12-6.
April Sykes leads three players in double figures in the scoring column netting 13.3 points per game ... Khadijah Rushdan and Monique Oliver are second and third on the team in scoring averaging 12.4 and 12.1 points per game, respectfully.
Oliver leads the Scarlet Knights in rebounding grabbing 6.3 boards per game.
Last Year vs. Rutgers
USF suffered a tough 60-52 loss to Rutgers in the Sun Dome on Feb. 6, 2010 last season ... The loss snapped the Bulls short two-game winning streak.
Jessica Lawson poured in a career-high 33 points while also grabbing 10 rebounds, recording three steals and blocking two shots in 34 minutes of action ... Lawson was 11-14 from the floor and 11-12 from the free throw line on the afternoon ... Kaneisha Saunders added seven points in the loss.
Over the last five years (prior to this season), three of the most points scored against Rutgers has been by a USF player ... Before Lawson's 33-point outburst on Feb. 6, Jessica Dickson poured in 37 points during a heartbreaking 66-65 loss on Jan. 11, 2006 and Shantia Grace netted 30 points, against the Scarlet Knights, in a 71-50 setback on Feb. 16, 2008.
The Rutgers bench dominated USF's reserves outscoring the Bulls 17-1.
The Scarlet Knights also scored 14 points off 18 turnovers as opposed to USF eight points off of 18 Rutgers miscues.
In the game, neither team shot well from the field with the Scarlet Knights hitting for 38.3 percent (18-47) of their shots from the floor, while the Bulls were just 17-51 (33.3 percent) from the field ... In addition, both teams particularly struggled from behind the three-point arc as Rutgers was 1-5 (20.0 percent) from three-point land, and USF 1-16 (6.3 percent).
Last Time Out
USF is coming off a 66-55 loss to Louisville on Saturday at the Sun Dome ... The loss was the Bulls' sixth straight.
Andrea Smith scored a team-high 16 points on 7-16 shooting from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line ... Jasmine Wynne also chipped in with a season-high 12 points on 5-10 shooting.
Leondra Doomes-Stephens and Akila McDonald each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
