Bulls Heat Up After Break in Win Over Bearcats
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, JAN. 21, 2014 – USF's offense lit up the Sun Dome in the second half of a 57-48 victory over Cincinnati on Tuesday night that brought the Bulls up to 5-2 in American Athletic Conference play.
Head coach
Jose Fernandez's squad improved to 10-8 overall thanks to shooting 60 percent from the field after the break in its fifth victory in the past six games.
"This team has energy and enthusiasm and we pride ourselves on that. You can bank on our team playing hard every night," Fernandez said. "This team has continued to work and develop, and I'm proud of them for that."
Courtney Williams recorded her fifth 20-plus point game of the season with 21 points and the sophomore guard added seven rebounds to help the Bulls finish with a 38-30 edge on the glass. USF also got a strong second-half performance from senior
Akila McDonald, who scored eight of her 10 points after the break and added six rebounds.
USF's huge second half was a much different story than its production in the first 20 minutes. The Bulls went 9-for-31 from the field, which prompted the players to come together before Fernandez's halftime talk.
"Clearly 29 percent was not good enough, so we just knew we had to go out and make shots," McDonald said. "If you're winning, you're having fun."
The 24
th meeting between the programs featured a 22-22 halftime tie before the Bulls started to click in their third straight victory over Cincinnati (8-10, 1-6). A pair of Williams free throws tied things up at 36 with 11:41 to play and the Bulls gained the distance they needed while continuing on a 12-2 run that pumped the lead up to 48-38 with 6:40 remaining.
Freshman guard
Ariadna Pujol really sparked the run with seven straight points after Williams' free throws, and sophomore forward
Alisia Jenkins and Williams went on a 5-0 run of their own to really swing the momentum in USF's favor in front of a crowd of 1,211.
The Bulls also got good production from the point guard position for the second straight game as starter
Laura Marcos Canedo and
Shalethia Stringfield combined for three points and four assists after USF got the news that freshman
Trimaine McCullough's season was over because of a knee injury.
Cincinnati finished with three players in double figures after getting 12 points and 11 rebounds from
Jeanise Randolph, 13 points from
Dayeesha Hollins and 10 more from Bianca
Quisenberry.
USF will look to add a signature win to its NCAA tournament resume Sunday at noon when the Bulls take on top-ranked UConn in Hartford. USF returns to the Sun Dome on Wednesday, Jan. 29 to face Houston at 7 p.m. Purchase tickets for the game
HERE and stay updated on the Bulls all season long by following the team on Twitter
@USFWBB.
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