TAMPA, JAN. 12, 2016 – After four games in eight days, and opening the American Athletic Conference schedule 3-1, the USF women's basketball team jumped to No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll released Tuesday.
USF broke into the Top-20 in last week's poll, but reached a new program best No. 16 after a 2-1 week. The Bulls have appeared in the poll every week this season.
UConn remained the unanimous No. 1 with 32 first-place votes. South Carolina ranked No. 2, Notre Dame followed at No. 3 and Texas and Ohio State rounded out the Top-5.
The Bulls went 2-1 last week and outscored opponents by a margin of 18.7 points in American Athletic Conference action. USF opened the week by reaching the century mark for the second time this season. The Bulls downed UCF 108-63 Tuesday before an 83-56 thumping of SMU. Against the No. 1 team in the country, USF had chances to overtake the perennial power, but ultimately fell 75-59. The Bulls averaged 10.3 three-pointers per game and were led by USBWA National Freshman of the Week and The American Player of the Week Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) with 17 three-pointers in three games.
The Bulls started the season ranked No. 19 in the preseason Coaches Poll and climbed as high as No. 17 in the second week. USF has appeared in both the AP Top-25 and USA Today Coaches Poll every week this season.
The Bulls return to action Wednesday when they travel to Tulane for an 8 p.m. ET match-up. The game will air live on ESPN3.
Jose Fernandez's 2015 women's basketball team returns all five starters, including All-American Candidate Courtney Williams, from a team that posted a 27-8 (15-3 American) record in 2014-15 and finished the season in the top 25 rankings. The squad finished second behind eventual NCAA champion UConn in the American Athletic Conference and made an exciting NCAA Tournament run that saw USF top LSU in front of 5,560 fans in the Sun Dome in the NCAA regional round.
In 2015-16, the Bulls will be hosting their toughest schedule yet, including the opening rounds of the Preseason WNIT, along with perennial powers Penn State, Chattanooga, Oklahoma State and UConn making trips to Tampa. Season tickets, starting at just $65, are available for purchase online at USFBullsTix.com, by phone at 1-800-GoBulls or in person at the Gate B ticket office of the Sun Dome, with single game tickets going on sale in late September.
USF has made 11 postseason tournament appearances and had three NCAA Tournament berths in Head Coach Jose Fernandez's 15 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to six 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 260 games.
– #GoBulls –
