Bulls Dominate the Glass, Top Bradley
Peoria, Ill. -Â A physical and motivated USF women's basketball team cruised through its first road game of the season, out-rebounding Bradley 62-36 in an 87-63 win over the Braves in
Peoria, Ill. late Sunday afternoon.
Four Bulls set new career highs in rebounds as USF recorded a dominating 24 offensive boards and scored 46 points in the paint to cruise to its third win of the season.
Led by
Orekhova's 20 points, the Bulls had their best shooting day of the year, knocking down 42.5 percent of their shots from the field and putting nine players into the scoring column.
Courtney Williams (19 points)
Tamara Taylor (14 points) and
Alisia Jenkins (11 points) joined
Orekhova in the double-digit club as USF had four double-digit scorers for the third time in four games. USF had four or more players in double-digits just eight times in 2012-13.
The Bulls used their athleticism to distance themselves from Bradley in the first half, owning the offensive glass to a tune of 14 rebounds and 14 second chance points.
Akila McDonald had possibly her most productive half of basketball as a Bull, grabbing nine rebounds (five offensive) and contributing five points, two steals and two blocks as she dominated the lane. USF outscored Bradley 20-10 in the paint, getting a six-point run on three layups from
Shavontae Naylor to extend the lead to double digits halfway through the period.
Naylor wasn't the only Bull putting up points, as seven different USF players sank at least one shot and five had at least five first-half points.
Orekhova led the Bulls through the first half with 10 points, while
Courtney Williams continued to be a spark off the bench with nine, sending the Bulls to a 41-28 halftime lead.
USF looked even stronger in the second half, attacking the basket and knocking down 46.3 percent of its shots. Jenkins, McDonald and
Orekhova surpassed their personal bests with 14, 12 and nine rebounds, respectively, while Williams completed her second-career double-double with 10 rebounds. Jenkins tallied her third double-double of the season.
The Bulls return home Wednesday to face North Carolina Central at 7 p.m., and will host Clemson Sunday.
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