No. 8 DePaul 76, No. 9 USF 62
USF fell to DePaul 76-62 in the second round of the Big East Tournament. Jasmine Wynne led the way with 18 points and Inga Orekhova added 17.
The Bulls will now await their postseason schedule which could include an appearance in the WNIT.
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No. 9 USF vs. No. 8 DePaul
USF and DePaul will tipoff 30 minutes following the West Virginia and Syracuse game. The game can be heard live on 1010 AM in Tampa and fans can watch live on BigEast.TV and across the Big East Network.
See the links to the right for live stats and to watch online.
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USF 60, Pittsburgh 59
The Bulls were able to hang on. Just barely. The team built a 19 point halftime lead that eventually dissappeared in the second half, but Andrell Smith hit a three late and a Pitt jumper rimmed out at the buzzer and the Bulls survived to live another day.
USF will now face No. 8 seed DePaul Saturday at 2 p.m. The Bulls defeated the Blue Demons 66-63 in OT earlier this year in Tampa.
Box Score
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Game Day...
Gameday is finally here as the Bulls take on the No.16 seed Pittsburgh at about 2 p.m. today. The game will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Providence-Syracuse game.
For in game updates follow @USFWBB on Twitter. You can also watch the game online for free on BigEast.TV and follow live stats HERE.
#GOBULLS #BeatPitt
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Preparation...
USF just got finished with practice at Trinity College and on our way to the gym, the team received some great news.
Senior Jasmine Wynne was named the Big East Conference Most Improved player and was also named to the All-Big East Second Team.
Wynne is one of the most-liked players on the team and is the team captain.
The senior was named the conference's most improved women's basketball player on Thursday and her numbers speak volumes about the honor. The guard went from averaging 3.4 points per game, 1.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game in 2011-11 to 15.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 2.6 assists per game in 2011-12.
We have posted Pitt's notes in the links for your reading.
Early morning shootaround for USF and then tip is at 2 p.m. You can listen live on BullsCast or watch on BigEast.TV.
Goodnight and GO BULLS!
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News, Notes and Takeoff...
The team heads to the airport tonight and will land in Hartford, Conn. late tonight. Below are some interesting notes we found heading into the first round matchup with Pittsburgh on Friday. These two teams have a history with each other, especially since they played in the opening round of the tournament last year, and have played some close games over the past few years.
Alex Perlman, the Bulls' play-by-play guy posted a quick preview which you can watch above. We will check in with you from Hartford, Conn. GO BULLS! #BeatPitt
The Matchup
» Six of the 10 games in the series have been decided by combined total of 16 points. Six of the 10 by four points or fewer.
» Four of the six have come down to the final minute of the game, including both games last season.
» Andrea Smith tore her ACL two minutes into the opening round game against Pittsburgh in the Big East Tournament last season and has not played since.
» Pittsburgh has not won a road game this season.
The Tournament
» The Bulls enter the tournament as the ninth overall seed. The ninth place finish is the fourth best in the program's history in the Big East.
» USF earned a seventh seed in 2005-06, an eighth seed in 2009-10 and 2006-07.
» The Bulls have reached the quarterfinals two times in 2008-09 and 2006-07.
» USF is 4-5 all-time in the Big East Tournament and 2-3 in the first round.
» The Bulls have lost in the first round of the Big East Tournament three times (2010-11 vs. Pitt, 2009-10 vs. Cincinnati and 2005-06 vs. Notre Dame).
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Introduction
As the Bulls head to Hartford Conn. to participate in the 2011-12 Big East Tournament, we will keep you up to date on schedules, results, news, notes and much more.
In the right hand column are all the links that fans will need throughout the weekend as well as updated box scores, videos and team gamenotes.
Below that is an up-to-the-minute bracket (click to enlarge), to see who beat who at the XL Center.
For complete breaking news and in-game updates and analysis, check out the @USFWBB Twitter feed. As things happen, we will keep you informed right there with major news and announcements being posted in this update section.
If you have any questions or comments, tweet them to us, and we will get back to you.
Thanks for reading, and GO BULLS!
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Here is a complete tournament schedule and session ticket prices:
2012 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Championship Field:
Friday, March 2 - First Round (BE.tv)
Game 1 Noon #12 Syracuse vs. #13 Providence
Game 2 2 p.m. #9 USF vs. #16 Pittsburgh
Game 3 6 p.m. #10 Villanova vs. #15 Seton Hall
Game 4 8 p.m. #11 Cincinnati vs. #14 Marquette
Saturday, March 3 - Second Round (BETV and BE.tv)
Game 5 Noon #5 West Virginia vs. Game 1 winner
Game 6 2 p.m. #8 DePaul vs. Game 2 winner
Game 7 6 p.m. #7 Louisville vs. Game 3 winner
Game 8 8 p.m. #6 Rutgers vs. Game 4 winner
Sunday, March 4 - Quarterfinals (ESPNU/BETV)
Game 9 Noon #4 Georgetown vs. Game 5 winner
Game 10 2 p.m. #1 Notre Dame vs. Game 6 winner
Game 11 6 p.m. #2 St. John's vs. Game 7 winner
Game 12 8 p.m. #3 Connecticut vs. Game 8 winner
Monday, March 5 - Semifinals (ESPNU)
Game 13 6 p.m. Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner
Game 14 8 p.m. Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner
Tuesday, March 6 - Championship (ESPN)
Game 15 7 p.m. Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner
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Session Ticket Prices
March 2 -Session 1 (Fri. afternoon doubleheader) $20
March 2 -Session 2 (Fri. evening doubleheader) $20
March 3 -Session 3 (Sat. afternoon doubleheader) $20
March 3 -Session 4 (Sat. evening doubleheader)$20
March 4 -Session 5 (Sun. afternoon doubleheader)$25
March 4 -Session 6 (Sun. evening doubleheader) $25
March 5 -Session 7 (Monday semifinal doubleheader) $30
March 6 -Session 8 (Tuesday championship final) $30
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USF 64, Providence 56 OT
Feb. 27, 2012
TAMPA – The Bulls knocked off Providence in thrilling fashion Monday night to catapult them into the Big East Tournament as the No. 9 seed.
Senior Jasmine Wynne missed a game-winning jumper with 20 seconds left in the game. Providence guard Rachel Barnes was fouled and made both of her free throws to give Providence the lead, 53-50. Inga Orekhova then hit a three pointer with 5.6 seconds remaining in the second half to tie the game at 53-53 and send it to overtime.
Orekhova led all scorers with 17 points and the Bulls' lone senior, Wynne, added 15 points on senior night to lead the Bulls past Providence, 64-56, before a crowd of 604 at the USF Recreation Center.
“I wanted to win today and it was Wynne's last home game so it had to go in,” said Orekhova.
Senior guard Wynne scored in double figures for the 23rd straight game in her final home game of her career, but the Bulls will play on as they head to the Big East Tournament as the No.9 seed where they will face Pittsburgh (8-21, 0-16 Big East) on Friday at 2 p.m. in Hartford, Conn.
“She (Wynne) has meant a lot to our program,” said head coach Jose Fernandez. “I couldn't be more proud of her.”
Shalethia Stringfield scored six points and Akila McDonald added five points off the bench. The bench helped the Bulls keep the game close with 17 points on 55 percent shooting from the field.
“It was great how the team stepped up tonight,” said Wynne.
The Bulls were down early in the first half before they went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at nine on free throws by Stringfield with just over 11 minutes left in the half.
USF trailed the Friars for most of the first half before going on an 8-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 28-27, before halftime.
The Bulls defense dominated forcing the Friars forcing them to commit 21 turnovers and shoot 31.1 percent from the field.
Overtime was no different.
The Bulls took the early lead on another three by Orekhova and did not look back, clinching the game, 64-56 to improve to 13-1 in the past 14 overtime games that Fernandez has coached.
USF (16-14, 8-8) went 3-13 in the Big East last year and 8-8 in the Big East this year. The five win improvement is the largest improvement in the league, despite not having last year's leading scorer Andrea Smith for the entire season.
USF will head to the Big East Tournament as the ninth seed and play against Pittsburg in the first round on Friday at 2 p.m. in Hartford, Conn.
