TAMPA, FEB. 12, 2016 – USF's defense sparked the offense Friday night as the No. 22/20 University of South Florida women's basketball team topped Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena. The Bulls held all but one Bearcat to single-digits while Courtney Williams' (Folkston, Ga.) had a game high 22 points.
In her 15th 20-plus game this season, the Naismith Trophy candidate shot 64 percent from the floor, connecting on 9-of-15 shots, including 3-of-5 from long range. Williams also added six rebounds. Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) tallied 14 points for USF (18-6, 11-3 AAC), and improved her multi-three-point game streak to eight consecutive games. The three-time American Athletic Conference Freshman has scored at least one three in 22 of the Bulls 24 games this season. Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) had another strong outing, reaching double-digits for the second straight game with 10 points, while Alisia Jenkins (Statesboro, Ga.) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. Laia Flores (Mataro, Spain) chipped in with eight points and dished out seven assists.
The Bulls never trailed, holding Cincinnati to single digits for the first eight minutes of the game, outscoring the Bearcats 17-9, and led 38-27 at the half. The third quarter was even, USF edging the host 16-14, but the fourth quarter belonged to Laksa and Flores. The pair combined for 14 of the teams 24 points in the final frame. Laksa opened the quarter on a personal 5-0 run, and claimed eight of her final 14 in the last 10 minutes. Flores drained two three-pointers in one minute, and gave the Bulls a 70-47 lead, sealing the Bulls fifth series sweep of the season. USF has completed series sweeps against East Carolina, UCF, SMU, Tulane and Cincinnati.
The Bulls shot 50 percent from the floor for the second time this season. USF reached the mark earlier in the year, in a 101-79 route of Penn State, Dec. 6.
Cincinnati (7-17, 3-10 AAC) became the 15th opponent the Bulls have held to less than 30 percent from behind the arc this season. The Bearcats went 5-for-17, including 0-for-3 in the final quarter. Jasmine Whitfield led the Bearcats with 14 points and two of the teams five three-pointers.
The Bulls remain on the road and visit former Big East conference rival Louisville for a Top-25 showdown Feb. 15. The 9 p.m. match-up will air on Big Monday on ESPN2.
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.
– #GoBulls –
