By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA - The Bulls' defense came to play in a valuable Big East win Saturday at the Sun Dome.

The USF women's basketball team forced 23 turnovers in a 58-48 victory over Marquette that got the Bulls back to even ground in league play. USF (14-5, 3-3) scored 20 of its points off turnovers while Marquette shot 32 percent from the field.

"We've been working on our defense for a while now in practice, that's our focus now," said Inga Orekhova, who posted a team-high 15 points in USF's second consecutive victory.

The Bulls continued to get good production from its youngsters as freshman guard Courtney Williams scored 10 points and freshman forward Alisia Jenkins grabbed 11 rebounds.

"The best people play whether you're a freshman or a senior. It's all about production," head coach Jose Fernandez said.

Akila McDonald also had a solid night on the glass, finishing with 10 rebounds while Andrell Smith scored 11 points to help USF improve to 9-2 at home this season.

Fernandez said his freshmen would keep seeing extended minutes and that's exactly what the case was Saturday's first half that saw the Bulls grab a 24-18 lead before the break. Williams scored eight points in 18 minutes, Jenkins grabbed five rebounds in 14 minutes, while Andrell Smith and Andrea Smith were limited to a combined 10 minutes in the opening period to remain out of foul trouble. Freshman guard Shavontae Naylor played eight of her 12 total minutes in the first half.

"The three freshmen gave us great minutes in the first half. Those three young players are coming of age," Fernandez said.

USF didn't have its best night on offense, shooting 36 percent, but heated up enough down the stretch to hold off Marquette. Andrell Smith scored nine of her 11 points after the break and Andrea Smith posted all of her seven points in the second half.

"They make big shots and they want the ball in their hands," Fernandez said.

The Bulls led from start to finish and their hard work on defense paid dividends a game before USF hosts No. 13 Louisville. Marquette (10-9, 2-4) went 0-for-7 from long range after the break and finished 2-for-14 from three-point range.

"I was pleased with how we defended from beginning until about three minutes left in the game," Fernandez said.

USF faces off against Louisville 7 p.m. Wednesday in the finale of the Bulls' two-game homestand.