TAMPA – Head coach Jose Fernandez gave USF the keys to beating West Virginia, but his Bulls failed deliver Wednesday night.

Jasmine Wynne scored a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds in the Bulls' 55-52 loss to the Mountaineers before a crowd of 629 at the USF Recreation Center.  USF (12-11, 4-5) had gone 6-2 at the venue entering Wednesday and win No. 7 remained out of reach because of West Virginia's ability to control the boards. 

“We talked to our team before the game and there were two things – how we rebound the ball and second-chance points,” Fernandez said. 

The Mountaineers (16-6, 6-3) outrebounded USF, 51-28, and held a 13-5 edge in second-chance scoring.

“We knew what West Virginia did well we just didn't do what we were supposed to in the paint,” Fernandez said.

Inga Orekhova was the other Bull in double figures with 10 points, while Sasha Bernard scored nine points off the bench.

“Sasha Bernard gave us great energy tonight,” Fernandez said.

USF trailed by 11 with 4:39 remaining when it started to dice into the deficit. Bernard's layup sparked a 12-4 run that pulled the Bulls within three and they had one good chance to tie it up. Orekhova missed a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left and Wynne's desperation shot failed to beat the buzzer.

Wednesday's game started off as tight as it ended.

West Virginia went on a 7-0 run to start the game while the Bulls took time getting it going on offense. Wynne scored USF's first point on a free throw shot more than five minutes in and the Bulls didn't score again until Kaneisha Saunders sank a free throw shot with 12:08 left in the first half.

USF ended up missing its first 10 shots from the field but stayed in the game thanks to tight defense. The Mountaineers went 5 minutes, 8 seconds without a point after they jumped out to an 11-1 lead.

Andrell Smith woke the Bulls up on offense with a 3-pointer, Caitlin Rowe followed it up with another and Bernard slashed to the hoop for a layup that cut USF's deficit to 11-10 with 10:03 to play before the break.

The Bulls rolled into the half with a 25-22 advantage thanks to a buzzer-beating layup by freshman Shalethia Stringfield.

USF looks to snap a two-game losing streak 1 p.m. Saturday at Syracuse.