BY KY-SHON HEPBURN 


SPECIAL TO GOUSFBULLS.COM

TAMPA – The Bulls kept their perfect record intact Wednesday night.

Andrell Smith led all scorers with 19 points and Inga Orekhova added 15 points as USF cruised past Florida Gulf Coast at the Sun Dome, 67-46, to improve to 7-0 on the season. The Bulls are 7-0 for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

“This was a very good win for our group,” said head coach Jose Fernandez. “We just have to keep moving and take one game at a time.”

The opening half was a back and forth battle with six lead changes before the Bulls were able to close the half on a 16-8 run to take a 33-27 lead. Andrell Smith led all scorers in the first half with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. The Bulls shot 43.8 percent from the field and held a 14-0 advantage in points off turnovers.

The Bulls continued to dominate in the second half.

USF's defense held Florida Gulf Coast to 26 percent shooting from the field, forced 19 turnovers and grabbed 10 steals. The Bulls held a 42-39 edge in rebounds.

The Bulls offense came alive, shooting 5-of-9 from behind the arc to help extend their lead.

“We feel as if we're a team that can continue to be undefeated if we just do the little things that we've been working on,” said Andrell Smith.

Tiffany Conner scored eight points, and added nine rebounds and five steals in her first start of the season. Tahira Johnson grabbed 10 rebounds in the collective effort.

The Eagles starting guard Brittany Kennedy scored 10 points, six assists and four rebounds.

The Bulls will face Jacksonville 1 p.m. Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla.

“I like our start,” said Fernandez. “We just have to come back and get ready for Jacksonville on Saturday.”