ESTERO, FLA., NOV. 24, 2017 – The University of South Florida women's basketball team rolled past Washington State Friday night in the first round of the 2017 Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. The Bulls had three players score in double figures in route to an 82-45 victory.
USF's defense made a statement in the opening quarter, holding Washington State scoreless in the first quarter. The Bulls did not allow a basket until 9:34 of the second quarter. USF carried a 17-0 lead into the second quarter and only allowed eight points in the second frame. The Bulls took their largest lead into the half thanks to a 35-8 halftime score.
Nine different players saw action for the Bulls. Led by
Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) with 23 points, the Bulls shot a season high 52 percent and 63 percent from long range. Laksa finished 9-for-16 (.562), including 5-of-9 (.555) from behind the arc.
Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) followed with 15 points, 11 rebounds in her third Denmark double of the season.
Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) turned in a near perfect outing and finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Ferreira went 4-for-5 from the floor, 2-for-2 from behind the arc and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
Making her first appearance in the green and gold was redshirt-freshman
Enna Pehadzic (Horsens, Denmark). Pehadzic returned to the court after an ACL injury sidelined her last season. Pehadzic scored seven points and grabbed one rebound in 11 minutes.
KEY STATS:
0: The Bulls held Washington State scoreless through the first quarter, the first-time USF has held a team scoreless in a quarter since the NCAA switched to four quarters in 2015. USF's defense limited the Cougars to eight first half points, a matching the third fewest points allowed in a half.
NOTABLES:
- USF starts its season with a 5-0 record for the third time in the past six seasons. The Bulls have started 5-0 nine times in USF program history, six times under head coach Jose Fernandez.
- The last time USF held a team to eight points in a half was March 3, 2013 against Georgetown. The Bulls have also held Florida Atlantic (3/15/12), William & Mary (12/19/04) and Bethune-Cookman (1/31/90) to eight points in a half.
- USF assisted on 16 of its 29 field goals (55%) and have turned in 83 assists on 148 field goals this season (56%).
- USF has held all opponents under 55 points this season.
- Maria Jespersen inches closer to 1,000 career points. The senior sits at 931 points and 614 rebounds. The forward is on pace to become only the 10th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points and 600 rebounds.
- Kitija Laksa has made two-plus three-pointers in her last 13 outings and has gone 20-straight games with at least one trey.
UP NEXT:
USF advances to the semifinals of the 2017 Gulf Coast Showcase. The Bulls will face the winner of Notre Dame/ETSU Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Germain Arena.
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USF notched its fifth consecutive 20-win season. The Bulls tallied its 20th win in their 24th contest of the season which tied the fastest any program has reached 20 wins. This is the eighth 20-win season in program history and head coach Jose Fernandez has been at the helm for all eight 20-win seasons. The 2014-15 team reached 20 wins in 24 games, and still currently holds the best record for most wins in a season (27).
USF has made 13 postseason tournament appearances and had five NCAA Tournament berths in Head Coach Jose Fernandez's 17 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to eight 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 300 games.
– #GoBulls –
