DATE/TIME: Sunday, Jan. 17 / 2 p.m.
OPPONENT/EVENT: East Carolina
LOCATION: Sun Dome Arena, Tampa, Fla.
WEBCAST: ESPNU | WatchESPN
RADIO: News Talk Florida 820-AM | GoUSFBulls.com
GAME NOTES: USF | East Carolina
FOLLOW: Live Stats | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

TAMPA, JAN. 16, 2016 – The University of South Florida women's basketball team returns to Sun Dome Arena Sunday for its second match-up against East Carolina. The Bulls look to sweep the series against ECU at 2 p.m. in USF's We Back Pat game.

Following the launch of The Pat Summitt Foundation, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) coordinated the first annual We Back Pat week, during which all SEC women's basketball teams hosted games. The following year, colleges and high schools across the country began hosting We Back Pat games of their own.  We Back Pat Week begins Jan. 17 and runs through Jan. 25.

The Bulls and Pirates have already met once this season, and ECU holds a 7-3 all-time series advantage. In the pairs last outing, USF pulled out a dramatic 61-59 finish thanks to Courtney Williams (Folkston, Ga.) and a buzzer beater from the elbow.  Williams put together a solid, all-around performance with a game-high 20 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists. Fellow senior Alisia Jenkins posted her sixth double-double of the season 14 points and 14 rebounds to help USF finish with a 40-37 edge on the boards.

Bulls Bites

·      At the halfway point of the season, senior Courtney Williams ranks 10th in the country in points per game and the senior's efforts haven't gone unnoticed as Williams was named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top-20 list, announced Friday. Williams joins fellow watch list member Brittany Martin (Oklahoma State) as just one of two players in the country averaging over 20 points, eight rebounds and two assists per game.

·      Freshman Kitija Laksa turned in an accomplished week and was honored by the US Basketball Writers Association (WSBWA) as the National Freshman of the Week. Laksa was also named the American Athletic Conference as the Player of the Week. Laksa shocked the league in three outings and totaled 76 points in an efficient manner, shooting 52 percent from the floor, including a 63 percent three-point shooting effort. For the week, Laksa averaged 25.3 points per game, shooting 52 percent from the floor. She enters the week third on the Bulls roster, averaging 12.1 points per game.

·      Alisia Jenkins, still questionable for Sunday's game, leads the Bulls with 13.3 rebounds per game this season, and ranks fourth in Division I in her senior season. Jenkins is the current career rebounding record holder for the Bulls, and has collected 1,125 rebounds throughout her four years. The Georgia native is just the second Bull in program history to surpass the 1,000 career rebound mark.

·      The Bulls are ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press (AP) Top-25 Poll released Monday and No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll released last Tuesday. USF has been ranked as highly as No. 18 (AP Poll) and No. 16 (USA Today Coaches Poll) this season, both are the highest rankings in program history.

Around the American

·      American Athletic Conference action resumes on Saturday with four league matchups. UCF travels to Cincinnati at 2 p.m. ET (ADN). Tulane visits the Reynolds Center to take on Tulsa at 2 p.m. ET (ADN). SMU welcomes Memphis to Moody Coliseum at 3 p.m. ET. No. 1 UConn hosts Temple at Gampel Pavilion to round out play at 6 p.m. ET (CBSSN).

East Carolina's Scout

·      Jada Payne, I'Tiana Taylor and DeVaughn Gray combined for 63 of East Carolina's points in a 76-70 win against Houston at Williams Arena on Thursday evening. Payne produced her 10th double-double of the season with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds. Taylor finished with 21 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, and Gray scored 18 points with four 3-pointers in the win.

·      The Pirates have strung together two wins over Houston and UCF, snapping a nine game skid. ECU opened the 2015-16 campaign on a tear, winning 6-of-its-7 opening games.

 Up Next

USF hits the road Wednesday in American Athletic Conference action. The Bulls will travel to Memphis Jan. 20 for an 8 p.m. ET match-up. The game will air on the American Digital Network. Tickets are available at USFBullsTix.com.

The Bulls continue to climb in the polls, and have reached their highest rankings in program history. USF has been ranked as highly as No. 18 in the Associated Press poll and No. 16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll this season; both are the highest rankings in program history. USF has appeared in both polls every week and placed as highly as No. 11 on some ballots.

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 –