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By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, DEC. 17, 2014 – The Bulls roared out of the gates and never looked back on the way to an 84-43 win over Northern Colorado before a crowd of 1,275 at the Sun Dome on Wednesday night.

Down two starters, USF (8-3) opened the game on a 31-3 run and Tamara Taylor was already up to 14 points by the time D'Shara Strange ended the Bears' scoring drought that lasted nearly 12 minutes. Northern Colorado (6-4) made just one of its first 19 shots and trailed, 51-12, at the half.

“It's a credit to our players, the amount of energy and enthusiasm they used to come out and make a statement on the defensive end,” head coach Jose Fernandez said. “It started with how we defended and then how unselfishly we shared the basketball was huge. You play 20 minutes and you only turn it over one time that was pretty good.”

Taylor wound up scoring a career-high 24 points in 28 minutes after making a career-best six 3-pointers in 10 attempts. The senior guard from St. Petersburg has scored in double figures in six games this season.

“I couldn't have done it without my teammates. They found me, I was open and made shots,” Taylor said.

Junior guard Courtney Williams (Folkston, Ga.) finished just behind Taylor with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Junior forward Alisia Jenkins (Statesboro, Ga.) posted her seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Jenkins' big game on the boards helped the Bulls finish with a 51-37 advantage on the glass.

“She really went to the glass and what I liked about her in the second half she finished around the basket,” Fernandez said.

Taylor already set a new career high with five 3-pointers by the time USF headed into halftime with a 51-12 lead on a Northern Colorado team holding opponents to 51.8 points per game. Williams also headed into the break with 17 points to go along with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

USF shot 50 percent in the first half (17-for-34) with 11 assists and six 3-pointers minus starters Katelyn Weber (Little Rock, Ark.) and Laura Ferreira (Portugal), who were out of the lineup because of an illness and an ankle injury.

“They came out, protected our home floor and did what they needed to do, especially missing some players that usually are on the floor for us in Webber and Ferreira,” Fernandez said.

Northern Colorado made just four of its 29 shots in the opening period and turned the ball over eight times (15 total).

“I think we stayed disciplined, followed the game plan, ran plays and stayed down. I think defense was key,” said Williams after the Bulls came close to tying the program record for points allowed in a half. USF held Florida Southern College to four points in the first half on Feb. 17, 1977.

Fernandez's halftime speech was all about not letting the next 20 minutes go to waste and the Bulls finished in strong fashion. USF posted its second consecutive game with 19 assists while 13 different players logged in game minutes.

Fernandez credited the convincing victory to the great work ethic the Bulls have shown at the Muma Center during the holiday break.

“You had that final exam week and there is no school now. You can really concentrate and get better in practice,” Fernandez said. “We've played so many games in a short amount of time that you get so stuck on preparing for the next game, game planning for the next game, and you lose some of the things fundamentally on both ends of the floor because you don't have that practice time. We got better this week in practice.”

USF finishes up the week at Penn State 2 p.m. Sunday and fans have two more chances to catch the Bulls at home this holiday season. USF starts American Athletic Conference play Sunday, Dec. 28 against East Carolina before Memphis makes a visit to the Sun Dome on Wednesday, Dec. 31. Purchase tickets HERE.

NOTE: USF's victory at UT Chattanooga on Nov. 16 showed just how tough a team needs to be to win at McKenzie Arena. UT Chattanooga has won 43 of its past 44 home games after handing No. 7 Stanford a 54-46 loss on Wednesday night. The Mocs also defeated No. 11/12 Tennessee at home this season.