USF had a late lead against a Top 25 opponent for the second straight game, but the Bulls couldn't finish in a 63-57 loss at No. 15/16 Louisville on Wednesday night.

Jasmine Wynne extended her double-digit scoring streak to 13 games with a game-high 20 points, Kaneisha Saunders helped out with 18 points and Inga Orekhova had 11 for the Bulls (9-8, 1-2). Orekhova also posted a game-high five steals.

"I thought the kids battled and played hard," head coach Jose Fernandez said. "We just have to close out these games."

USF took a 33-29 halftime lead and looked to be on the way to recording its first road win over a ranked opponent since Jan. 26, 2008 when the Bulls beat No. 21 Notre Dame, 68-64, in overtime.

A jumper by Saunders with 18:10 gave USF a 39-31 advantage and the Bulls kept the lead all the way up to 8:53 left on the clock when Sheronne Vails tied things up at 47 with a free throw. The Cardinals followed with a 9-0 run and maintained a sizeable lead until there were 37 seconds left when Saunders hit a jumper that sunk the Bulls' deficit to 60-57.

The Bulls forced a turnover on the ensuing play, but Saunders missed a jumper and Orekhova missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 22 seconds remaining. Louisville put the game away with free throws before improving to 14-3, 3-1 in the Big East.

USF forced 19 turnovers - 10 in the first half - but its defense had lapses in the second half that led to some easy baskets.

"I was just disappointed we didn't defend interiorly as good as we needed to and Louisville took advantage," Fernandez said.

The Bulls hope to bounce back in Big East play 4 p.m. Saturday when they face Seton Hall in South Orange, N.J.