DATE/TIME: Sunday, Jan. 24 / 2 p.m.
OPPONENT: UCF
LOCATION:
RADIO: News Talk Florida 1040-AM | GoUSFBulls.com
GAME NOTES: USF | UCF
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TAMPA, JAN. 23, 2016 – The I-4 rivalry runs deep between the No. 15 University of South Florida women's basketball team and UCF, but Sunday's American Athletic Conference match-up carries a little extra weight for the Bulls. Off the heels of a stunning 88-87 loss at Memphis, USF looks to rally in Orlando and bring its away record back to 500.
USF (12-5, 5-2 AAC) fell in its first overtime game this season, the team's first since Dec. 2014. The Bulls haven't lost in extra minutes since Mar. 25, 2013, an 82-78 decision at California. The Bulls allowed the Tigers to score 88 points in Wednesday's loss, the most points allowed this season. Despite the shock, USF ranks second in The American with a scoring margin of +12.4 and has collected nine 20-plus point wins this season.
Courtney Williams (Folkston, Ga.) continues to lead the American with 22.1 points per game and only needs 25 points to move to second in the career scoring record book. Williams is just 83 points away from reaching the 2,000-point career mark and will become just the second player in program history to achieve the feat.
Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia), a USBWA National Freshman of the Week (Jan.11) follows Williams with 12.4 points per game, and has tallied 210 points in her freshman campaign. At Memphis, Laksa notched her third 20 point game, and scored 15 points in the third quarter alone.
The Bulls have now appeared in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Top-25 polls every week this season, building a streak of 12 consecutive weeks in the polls dating back to last season.
Bulls Bites
· Williams received The American Player of the Week recognition for the second time this season, but has also landed on the Weekly Honor Roll four times. Williams joined Breanna Stewart (UConn) as the only athlete to receive Player of the Week honors multiple times this season.
· Senior Shalethia Stringfield (Jacksonville, Fla.) dropped a game high 22 points in the Bulls 75-54 action packed American Athletic Conference match-up. The fourth quarter belonged to Stringfield, who just four days earlier lifted the Bulls (12-4, 5-1 AAC) past Tulane with the game winning shot. The 5-6 guard scored 14 of her 22 in the final ten minutes, which also accounted for 14 of the Bulls 22 points in the fourth quarter. Stringfield played 32 minutes, shooting 66 percent (6-for-9) from the floor and collected nine points on 11 trips to the free throw line.
· The Bulls have assembled seven different starting line-ups this season, and Sunday's starting-five is very much in the air. Senior rebounding leader Alisia Jenkins (Statesboro, Ga.) is listed as questionable prior to Sunday's game.
· Currently ranked third on USF's all-time scoring list, Williams is 83 points away from becoming the second player in school history to reach the 2,000-point milestone. Williams has proved she's not just an offensive threat, but can crash the boards with the best in the country, as the guard nearly averages a double-double this season (22.1 points, 9.1 rebounds per game) and needs only one rebound to reach 800 career rebounds. Williams is on pace to be the first Bull in program history to reach 2,000 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists. The senior needs 19 assists to reach 300.
· The Bulls are ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press (AP) Top-25 Poll released Monday and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll released last Tuesday. USF has been ranked as highly as No. 15 (AP Poll) and No. 15 (USA Today Coaches Poll) this season, both are the highest rankings in program history.
Around the American
No. 1 UConn visits SMU at 3 p.m. ET (SNY/ESPN3). NR/RV Tulane plays host to East Carolina at 3 p.m. ET (ADN). Memphis and Tulsa face off at the Reynolds Center at 3 p.m. ET. The Houston-Temple game, originally scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on Saturday on ESPN3, has been postponed due to expected inclement weather and moved to Friday, Feb. 12, with tip time and TV to be determined.
UCF's Scout
· No. 1 UConn defeated UCF 106-51 on Wednesday night at the XL Center. Zykira Lewis led the Knights in points (20) and rebounds (6) while Aliyah Gregory and Ashley Polacek contributed 13 and 10 points.
· Since their first meeting earlier this month, the Knights have gone 1-4, including a loss at No. 1 UConn. UCF is led by junior Zykira Lewis with 15.9 points per game and scored 30 points in the Bulls first meeting. Lewis is just one of two players to put up 30-plus points against USF.
· UCF has the top rebounding offense in the league, averaging 43.9 rebounds per game, just four-tenths ahead of USF, which averages 43.5 rebounds per game. The Knights are led by Joslyn Massey with 8.6 rebounds per game, which ranks sixth in the league.
Up Next
The Bulls return to Tampa for a Wednesday nightcap against Houston. USF will play its first game in the Sun Dome in 10 days. The Bulls are 10-1 at home this season, their only loss came at the hands of No. 1 UConn. Tip-off for Wednesday's game will be at 7 p.m. and will air on USF's Bulls Vision on GoUSFBulls.com. Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com or by calling 1-800-GoBulls.
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 –
