TAMPA – The Bulls battled to knock off FIU and advance to the third round of the WNIT on Saturday night for the sixth time under head coach Jose Fernandez.

Jasmine Wynne led all starters with 15 points, Inga Orekhova scored 10 points and Andrell Smith added 15 points off the bench to lead the Bulls past FIU, 77-61, before a crowd of 473 at USF Recreation Center.

“Our guys came out the gate ready to play,” said head coach Jose Fernandez.

Wynne has scored in double figures in 28 games this season and Smith led all bench players to help contribute to the 30 points scored by the Bulls bench.

USF trailed FAU at the start of the game, but went on an 11-2 run to take an 11-8 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining in the opening period.  

The Bulls then went on a 6-0 run with 8:23 remaining in the first half to extend their lead to 25-14.

USF was able to evenly distribute the ball offensively.  Five players scored at least five points in the opening half.

The Bulls defense held FAU to 25.9 percent shooting from the field to close the first half and take a 36-22 lead into halftime.

The Bulls won the second chance point battle scoring 24 points compared to just 10 by FIU.

USF was able to capitalize on the Panthers turnovers scoring 14 points on 20 turnovers.  The Bulls also won the rebound battle outrebounding FIU 46-44.

USF's largest lead of the night came with 13:07 remaining in the second half on free throws by Akila McDonald, 53-21.  McDonald grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and added eight points.  

“She's a young lady that has continued to develop and grow,” said Fernandez.  “She gave us a really nice lift.”

The Panthers battled back in the second half cutting the deficit to 10 points with 4:45 remaining in the game, but the Bulls defense held tough and never let the lead drop to single digits.  

The Bulls, with back-to-back double-digits wins under their belts, will await their next opponent, the winner of the Wake Forest and James Madison game. Those two teams will face off Sunday at 2 p.m. for the right to get to the WNIT Sweet 16.

The date and site of the Sweet 16 matchup will be announced following the game Sunday.