Bulls Sweep Knights in Dominant Fashion
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, FEB. 8, 2014 – USF extended its winning streak over in-state rival UCF to 15 in convincing fashion before a crowd of 1,475 at the Sun Dome on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulls dominated in all areas on the way to an 89-54 win that matched the program's most lopsided victory over a conference opponent. USF's other 35-point win over a league foe came by an 83-48 margin over VCU on Jan. 21, 1994, back when the Bulls competed in the Metro Conference.
USF outscored UCF 152-92 in its season sweep and got a compete team performance in the series' latest installment. Sophomore
Courtney Williams (
Folkston, Ga.) recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Freshman
Ariadna Pujol (
Mataro, Spain) scored 16 points and sophomore
Alisia Jenkins (
Statesboro, Ga.) added 13 points.
"If you follow the game plan the end result takes care of itself," head coach
Jose Fernandez said. "I think by doing that – us sharing the ball, taking high percentage passes and not taking plays off on either end of the floor – the score takes care of itself."
USF (13-10, 8-4) was able to cruise to its third win in the past four games by controlling the action on both ends of the floor. The Bulls outscored the Knights 44-20 in the paint, and Williams' big performance helped USF grab a 53-34 advantage on the glass.
The Bulls also scored 30 points off 19 UCF turnovers on the way to improving to 20-8 all-time against the Knights. What set the tone for the latest win was a first half that saw USF run away from the Knights on the way to a 46-17 lead at the break.
The programs combined to score eight points in the first 6 minutes before USF's offense started to heat up.
Akila McDonald's free throw broke up a 4-4 tie with 13:52 remaining in the half and the Bulls seized control while continuing on a 14-2 run.
Williams closed in on her fifth double-double of the season with eight points and nine rebounds in the opening period. Jenkins was the first player in double figures with 11 points and her six rebounds helped the Bulls open with a 33-11 advantage on the boards.
UCF (9-14, 2-10) made only 5 of its first 26 field goal attempts and wound up finishing 15-for-58 from the floor. Andrea Hines scored a game-high 19 points and
Zykira Lewis added 17 points in the Knights' 10
th loss in their past 11 games.
Saturday's game gave USF the opportunity to see what its whole roster could do and the Bulls stepped during their highest scoring game since putting up 93 points against North Carolina Central in November. USF's bench outscored
UCF's 40-7 with
Shalethia Stringfield (Jacksonville) adding eight points and four assists.
Jayla King (Pensacola, Fla.) posted a career-high seven points and went 2-for-2 from the field to help the Bulls shoot 47 percent from the field.
A total of 12 different Bulls scored and all 15 healthy players saw time on the court.
"In a game where you're able to get out in front so much you want to reward those kids because
Paige Cashin,Â
Jayla King,
Micah Kroll and
Neena Pacholke haven't gotten the minutes that everybody else has, even
Ivana (
Vuletic)," Fernandez said. "But they're doing the same thing. They're working just as hard in the weight room, conditioning and practice, so it's good to reward those kids with some time on the floor."
The Bulls get to take advantage of some extra prep time for their rematch with No. 1 UConn on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Sun Dome. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start and will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network. Purchase tickets
HERE and stay updated on the Bulls all season long by following the team on Twitter @
USFWBB.
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