Bulls Hold Off Aggies in First Round of WNIT
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, MARCH 21, 2014 – USF knew it would have a huge target on its back heading into WNIT play after barely missing out on the NCAA tournament, and the Bulls handled the pressure well Friday night.
Stars shined to help the Bulls tough out a 56-50 victory over North Carolina A&T in first-round action before a crowd of 1,105 at the Sun Dome. USF gets another chance to play in front of home fans when it hosts Stetson 2 p.m. Sunday in the second round.
"Now we just have to go out there and play with a chip on our shoulder and get it done and show the (NCAA) committee we should have been chosen," said sophomore guard
Courtney Williams, who came up big with 14 points and nine rebounds in USF's seventh victory in its past eight games.
Sophomore forward
Alisia Jenkins posted her 13
th double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 boards, which helped the
Statesboro, Ga., native move into second place on USF's single-season rebounds list with 329.
Inga
Orekhova became the 20
th Bull in program history to pass the 1,000-point mark with 15 points. The senior guard knocked down two of USF's three 3-pointers and added five rebounds and four assists.
Head coach
Jose Fernandez said the Bulls will have to get a better performance from its entire cast to get past Stetson in the programs' second meeting of the season. Minus
Orekhova, USF held off Stetson, 72-68, on Dec. 8 at the Sun Dome.
"We're going to have to play a lot better Sunday, that's for sure," Fernandez said. "I'm looking forward to getting back in the gym tomorrow in the afternoon and getting these guys better."
USF (20-12) took a 31-23 lead into halftime Friday night and had to withstand a late charge by North Carolina A&T (24-7). The Aggies tied the game twice in the second half and made it 41-all with 8:52 remaining on a 3-pointer by Tracy King.
North Carolina A&T dominated in second-chance points by a 21-6 margin and outrebounded USF, 34-20, but the Bulls found a way to finish the job in crunch time. Williams provided the go-ahead jumper and USF's lead grew to seven before the Aggies cut their deficit to 50-47 with 3:46 remaining.
"We told our players we need to create some separation, but we didn't," Fernandez said.
Jenkins gave the Bulls the cushion they needed with a pair of free throws and a layup that gave USF a seven-point lead with about a minute to go.
Orekhova sealed the victory with a pair of free throws that gave the Bulls another seven-point lead with 22 seconds remaining.
USF now turns its attention towards a Stetson squad that posted a 70-63 road win over Miami in the first round on Thursday night.
"For them to go down to Miami and beat an ACC team, that's a good win," Fernandez said.
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