ORLANDO, JAN. 24, 2016 – Freshman standout Kitija Laksa knocked down seven three pointers in her 29-point effort Sunday, to lead No. 15 University of South Florida past I-4 rival UCF. The Bulls cruised past the Knights 88-49 at CFE Arena in their 10th 20-plus point victory this season.
Laksa (Riga, Latvia) shot 58 percent in her fourth 20-plus point performance and went 7-for-10 from behind the arc, just one three-pointer away from tying her career best, eight threes in one game. Laksa also added five rebounds and two assists.
The Bulls trailed 14-11 after the first quarter, but led by 12 at the half thanks to a combined 23-point effort from Laksa, Courtney Williams (Folkston, Ga.) and Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal). The trio had a strong third quarter as well, scoring 21 of the Bulls 27 points, each making one three in the highest scoring quarter of the game. USF limited the Knights to just five field goals in the quarter and finished on a 14-4 run.
13 Bulls saw action in the final 10 minutes, including senior Micah Kroll (Tampa, Fla.) and junior Neena Pacholke (Tampa, Fla.) making their first appearances this season. Kroll scored in her sixth career three-pointer, and put the Bulls up 83-49 with 1:22 left in the contest. Nancy Warioba (Kisumu, Kenya) chipped in four points, a career high, and grabbed two rebounds.
Williams finished with 20 points, and a team best eight rebounds, three assists, while Ferreira finished with 14 points, six rebounds and three assists. Shalethia Stringfield (Jacksonville, Fla.) notched her third consecutive double-digit outing with 13 points and added six rebounds and a game high six assists.
The Bulls have not lost to the Knights since Dec. 10, 1980 and have won 19-consecutive meetings, the programs longest win streak.
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. 15 in the Associated Press poll and No. 15 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.
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