Bulls' Magical WNIT Run Ends in Semis
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, MARCH 2, 2014 – The clock struck midnight on USF's magical WNIT run as Rutgers handed the Bulls a 62-52 loss in Wednesday's semifinal round before a crowd of 1,781 at the Sun Dome.
USF (23-13) just missed out on a second straight trip to the NCAA tournament before clawing through the WNIT with a purpose and a mission and head coach
Jose Fernandez couldn't help but smile when talking about all the Bulls accomplished and overcame in the 2013-14 season.
"Only two finish with a win and that's the NCAA champion and the WNIT champion, and it's tough," Fernandez said. "I feel for our guys and I told them I couldn't be prouder of this group and what they did after December and how we played in January, February and March."
Courtney Williams' buzzer-beating 3-pointer at Mississippi State booked the Bulls a trip home for the WNIT semis and the sophomore guard did what she's done all season and led USF in scoring with 19 points in the third meeting with Rutgers this season.
Alisia Jenkins was huge on the glass all season and finished her sophomore campaign with a 14-rebound performance, although USF fell short in the crucial area by a 44-35 margin. Jenkins became just the third player in USF history to have a 300-rebound season and the
Statesboro, Ga., native finished with 369 to rank second on the Bulls' single-season charts behind Wanda Guyton (377).
USF won the turnover battle with four fewer than Rutgers' 19 but couldn't overcome a cold shooting night. The Bulls went 20-for-64 from the field after going 9-for-31 in the second half while playing catch-up the whole way to the finish.
"Tonight just wasn't our night. We had some really good looks and a lot of shots that we took were shots we usually make," Fernandez said. "There were just too many that just didn't fall down, but I'm very proud of this group for what they did and what they've accomplished."
USF trailed, 30-28, at the half after the lead changed hands five times and the Bulls made one last charge at Rutgers late. The Scarlet Knights (27-9) grabbed an eight-point advantage with 4:26 remaining, but a 3-pointer from senior
Inga Orekhova and a layup by Williams cut USF's deficit to 53-51 with 2:48 to play.
Rutgers answered back 32 seconds later with a jumper by Tyler
Scaife, who finished with a game-high 22 points, and the Scarlet Knights didn't let their lead dip below five the rest of the way.
Orekhova will be a name USF fans will remember for a long time with the way she performed during USF's NCAA tourney run last season and beyond. The guard from
Sevastapol, Ukraine scored 10 points in her final game as a Bull and finished 15
th on USF's career scoring list with 1,072 points.
Senior
Akila McDonald also scored 10 points in her final collegiate game and she also leaves a great impression on the program. The center from Decatur, Ga., finished second on USF's career list in blocks (194) and games played (130), while ranking 11
th with 617 rebounds.
"They have a very bright future playing at the next level and also I think they're going to be very, very successful when they leave here," Fernandez said.
Fernandez grabbed the microphone after the game to thank the large crowd that stuck around for USF's final moments of the season and promised the Bulls a force to reckon with in 2014-15.
"This is a very talented basketball team. We return a lot of people not only next year, but the year after," Fernandez said in his
postgame press conference. "If you look at our roster we've got two seniors and two juniors and we signed a pretty good recruiting class.
"So now it's how much better are we going to improve in the weight room and in the Muma Center this spring and summer?" Fernandez added. "That's going to be key for our players and it's going to be key for our coaching staff on how we make them better and how they make themselves better."
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