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By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, FEB. 7, 2015 – Red-hot USF notched its fifth straight win by rolling past Cincinnati, 75-36, Saturday night at the Sun Dome.
USF (19-4, 10-1) won for the 13th time in the past 14 games and set a season best by holding the Bearcats to 24.2 percent shooting from the field (15-for-62). The Bulls accomplished the feat with an all-around effort as 15 players saw action for the second straight game.
“Our bench came in and they defended, that was the biggest thing,” head coach Jose Fernandez said. “Sometimes the game is out of hand and your bench comes in and you quit defending and you take bad shots. That's a team progressing, so I was happy with that.”
Courtney Williams extended her 20-point streak to eight games by posting 20 points in 25 minutes of action. The junior from Folkston, Ga., now has 13 20-point performances this season after going 7-for-19 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
“It was good that we were able to manage her time tonight and get a lot of our younger players and our bench some time,” Fernandez said.
Alisia Jenkins also turned in a strong performance with 19 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks in her 16th double-double of the season. The junior from Statesboro, Ga., moved past Nalini Miller on USF's career rebounding list and is now in sole possession of fourth place with 834 boards.
USF finished with a 56-37 rebounding advantage with 40 boards on the defensive end. The Bulls came into the contest tied for the national lead with 31 defensive rebounds per game.
The Bulls jumped out to a 34-13 halftime lead thanks to tough defense and lots of production from their stars. Williams registered her 22nd double-digit scoring game of the season with 15 points while Jenkins was on the verge of her fifth straight double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Cincinnati (6-17, 3-8) didn't reach double digits until Marley Hill's layup cut its deficit to 26-11 with 7:05 to go before the break. The Bearcats started just 5-for-27 (18.5 percent) from the field and went 0-for-7 from long range.
The Bearcats wound up turning the ball over 14 times after shooting 28 percent in the second half as USF's bench players got heavily involved in the action. Seven reserves scored to help USF dominate in bench points by a 36-10 margin, led by Tamara Taylor's nine points and five rebounds.
Maria Jespersen added eight points and seven rebounds while Ariadna Pujol finished with seven points. The Bulls also got an impressive performance from Bre Brooks, who tied her career high of six points in six minutes.
“We have a lot of very good players. The competition is tough but it's also one of the reasons why our team is so good,” Jespersen said.
USF has a chance to complete two season series sweeps on the road next week. The Bulls face SMU 8 p.m. Tuesday in Dallas (TV: American Digital Network) before heading to Greenville, N.C., for a test against East Carolina on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. (ESPNU).
USF is back at the Sun Dome on Wednesday, Feb. 18 to take on Tulsa at 7 p.m. and fans can purchase tickets HERE.
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