By: Ky-Shon Hepburn

SPECIAL TO GOUSFBULLS.COM

TAMPA – The Bulls are off to a 3-0 start with a win over Bradley on Tuesday.

Andrea Smith led all scorers with 24 points and Inga Orekhova added 10 points to help lift USF past the Braves, 60-50, at the Sun Dome.

“We knew Bradley was going to be a good basketball team,” head coach Jose Fernandez. “You hold a team to 50 points and you're doing a great job defensively.”

Andrea Smith shot 9-for-19 from the field and 4-for-6 from behind the stripe.  The senior also added six rebounds and scored 15 of the team's final 18 points.

“You got to get your best player the basketball,” said Fernandez. “She had a good night.”

Orekhova helped the Bulls take a 24-23 lead into the half with a 3-pointer off a pass from Tiffany Conner.  Both teams played well on defense, but USF held Bradley to 24.2 percent shooting from the field in the opening half.

USF continued to add separation in the second half with a 4-0 run with eight minutes left to take 40-33 lead. The Bulls' bench added 25 points with Andrea Smith leading the charge in the first half with eight points.

“It didn't just come from me, it came from our bench and the other four players on the court,” said Andrea Smith. “It was a collective group.”

USF's defense continued to dominate in the second half, holding the Braves to 31.6 percent and 28.2 percent for the game.

Starting guard Shronda Butts was the leading scorer for Bradley (2-1) with 13 points and two rebounds.

The Braves got some momentum in the second half, scoring five unanswered points to cut the deficit to 40-38 with six minutes left in the game, but were unable to regain the lead from the Bulls thanks to Andrea Smith's late surge.

“I think we have to keep working hard and take that into the next game,” she said.

The Bulls will host another home game 7 p.m. Friday when they face North Dakota at the Sun Dome.