Bulls Give No. 5 Louisville a Battle in 62-54 Loss
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA (Jan. 12, 2014) – USF made No. 5 Louisville sweat in each half before
Schoni Schimmel and the Cardinals pulled away in the final 7 minutes of a 62-54 decision Sunday with 2,379 fans in the stands at the Sun Dome.
A pair of free throws by sophomore forward
Alisia Jenkins cut USF's deficit to 49-47 with 7:07 remaining, but
Schimmel scored six of her game-high 25 points down the stretch as Louisville snapped the Bulls' three-game winning streak.
Jenkins recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore guard
Courtney Williams finished with a team-high 19 points.
"I had all the confidence in the world (in our team) and I still do have all the confidence in the world," Jenkins said. "We are capable of beating Louisville."
Schimmel scored 17 points in the second half to lead Louisville (16-1, 4-0) to its ninth consecutive win.
"We had (
Schimmel) at eight points at the half, but that's what good players do and that's what she did," head coach
Jose Fernandez said.
Louisville's Sara Hammond scored 14 points and
Bria Smith added 10 points in the first of two meetings between the programs this season. The Bulls get a chance to get even with the Cardinals Sunday, Feb. 2 in Kentucky.
The Bulls proved to be up to the task in the first half, using an 11-0 run to grab 19-16 lead before heading into the break down, 33-27, to a team that hasn't lost since a 69-64 setback at No. 7 Kentucky on Dec. 1.
Williams led all scorers in the first half with 15 points after posting eight points and an assist during the Bulls' big run.
"I just wanted to win and keep my team in it. We had to make it to the half and we had to keep it going," said Williams, who reached double figures for the 11
th time this season.
The Cardinals retook the lead during an 8-0 run and got eight points apiece from Hammond,
Schimmel and Smith by the break.
USF turned the ball over 13 times in the opening period but was able to hang tough thanks to a solid effort on the defensive end. The Bulls forced 10 turnovers (five steals) and limited Louisville to 13-for-29 from the field while senior
Akila McDonald registered four of USF's first seven blocks. The Bulls finished with nine blocks while Louisville went 23-for-71 from the field.
Louisville's offense heated quickly in the second half while starting on a 14-3 run.
Schimmel, who leads the conference from long range, powered the run with 11 straight points and her fourth 3-pointer gave the Cardinals a 47-30 lead with 14:39 remaining. Jenkins' free throws ended a USF scoring drought that lasted nearly 5 minutes.
"A big player makes big plays and she showed up in the second half," said Williams of
Schimmel, who went 8-for-20 from the field and 4-for-12 from 3-point range.
The combination of Williams, Jenkins,
Shalethia Stringfield,
Katelyn Weber and
Ariadna Pujol – three sophomore and two freshmen – cut the deficit down to two in the next 7 minutes but the Bulls couldn't get any closer in their first loss since Dec. 28 against Rutgers. Louisville scored 23 points off 19 USF turnovers and owned a 20-9 advantage in second-chance points.
"We let them go on a run and we didn't answer," Williams said.
USF will look to bounce back on the road Saturday, Jan. 18 when it takes on in-state rival UCF at 7 p.m. in Orlando. The Bulls return to the Sun Dome on Tuesday, Jan. 21 to host Cincinnati at 7 p.m. Purchase tickets
HERE and get the latest team updates on Twitter @USFWBB.
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