By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

WASHINGTON, D.C., DEC. 2, 2017 – Stars Kitija Laksa and Maria Jespersen combined to score 52 points to help No. 17 USF secure a tough 83-78 road victory at George Washington on Saturday afternoon.

Laksa (Riga, Latvia) led the way with 27 points and made two of her five three-pointers during the Bulls' crucial 8-0 run after George Washington tied the game up near the midpoint of the fourth quarter.

Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) posted her second straight game with 25 points by going 11-for-15 from the field while USF (7-1) shot nearly 56 percent. The Arhus, Denmark native notched her fourth double-double of the season with 13 rebounds to help the Bulls finish with a 33-22 edge on the boards.

George Washington (3-5) gave the Bulls a true battle by sinking seven of its 13 total three-pointers in the second half. The Colonials shot 59 percent from beyond the arc (13-for-22) in the fourth meeting between the programs.

Jespersen secured her seventh double-digit scoring game of the season right away with 10 points in the first quarter that boosted the Bulls to a 24-17 advantage.

USF took a 42-35 lead into the locker room after finishing the second quarter on a 7-1 run. Jespersen and Laksa each had 15 points apiece after combining to go 12-for-19 from the field.

GW used the long ball to tie things up at 67-67 with 6:27 remaining before the Bulls seized the momentum with a 8-0 run. Laia Flores' (Mataro, Spain) tough layup broke the tie and head coach Jose Fernandez pumped his fist after Laksa sank consecutive three-pointers to put the Bulls back in control.

Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) heated up after the break with 11 points. Flores finished with nine points and six assists, while freshman Alba Prieto (Seville, Spain) added nine points in 20 quality minutes.

Quotable
Head coach Jose Fernandez's thoughts on getting past a tough opponent on the road:
"It wasn't easy. We knew what we were getting ourselves into and hand it to GW. They played a great game."

Fernandez on Maria Jespersen's impact combined with Kitija Laksa's 27-point effort and others stepping up down the stretch:
"I thought (Maria) was assertive. She created off the bounce. That's what you want to see in a veteran team, to do what we did. Laksa and Jespersen had a great game. I thought Ferreira had a great second half. Prieto gave us some good minutes off the bench."

Fernandez on George Washington's ability to sink 13 three-pointers to stay in it:
"We were defending as good as we could defend. GW was just shooting the ball from the arc and everything was going in."

Key Stats
56 – USF shot 56 percent from the field.
36 – The Bulls shot better than 50 percent in each half thanks in part to scoring 36 total points in the paint.
8-0 – USF took control with an 8-0 run after the game was tied near the midpoint of the fourth quarter.
 
Notables

• Maria Jespersen is just 15 points away from 1,000 in her career. Now with 642 rebounds, Jespersen is on the verge of becoming only the 10^th player in program history to post at least 1,000 points and 600 rebounds in a career.
• Jespersen registered her third 20-point outing and fourth double-double of the season. The senior forward now has 12 20-point games in her career
• Kitija Laksa secured her 22^nd consecutive double-digit scoring game by halftime with 15 points.
• Laksa has made two-plus three-pointers in each of her past 16 games and at least one in the past 23 outings.
• This marked USF's first D.C. trip since a 65-51 victory at Georgetown on March 4, 2013.
• Saturday was USF's first true road game of the season. The Bulls are 2-1 neutral site games this season and 4-0 at home.
• USF improved to 3-1 in its all-time series with GW. 

Up Next
USF wraps up its road trip with a Big 12 test at Oklahoma on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 3 p.m.

The Bulls' next home game is Friday, Dec. 15 against Southern University at 7 p.m. Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.
 
About USF Women's Basketball
To stay up-to-date on the latest USF women's basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
 
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.