NEW ORLEANS, LA. DEC. 20, 2017 – The will to win was evident Wednesday night when the Bulls pulled out a gritty come-from-behind victory on Wednesday. No. 22/19 USF defeated Dayton, 93-87, in the opening game of the New Orleans Shootout.
 
USF (10-2) trailed the Flyers (6-4) until three minutes remained in the game. With 3:32 left, Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) made her first three-pointer of the evening and tied the game at 68. Leading up to the fourth quarter, the junior guard contributed four points but found her rhythm at the right moment. Laksa scored 16 of the Bulls' 29 fourth quarter points.
 
USF trailed by 12 points with eight minutes remaining in the game, Laksa scored the go-ahead jumper and sparked an 11-4 run that sent the game into overtime. USF used the momentum shift and capitalized on Dayton fouls, going 7-for-10 from the charity stripe in the overtime period. The Bulls sealed their 10^th victory of the season thanks to a nine-point effort by Laksa in the overtime period.
 
Laksa finished with 29 points while Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) netted a season high 22-points. Ferreira notched her third double-double this season thanks to a game-high 10 rebounds. Ferreira added five assists, two steals and a block and shot 50 percent from behind the arc (4-for-8). Alyssa Rader (Thornton, Colo.) recorded her first double-double at USF with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The redshirt-sophomore shot 50 percent from the floor. Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) finished with 14 points and six rebounds in just 29 minutes of action while Laia Flores (Mataro Spain) flirted with a triple-double with nine points, seven rebounds and 10 assists.
 
QUOTABLES:
Head coach Jose Fernandez on the team's grit:
"I thought our kids continued to stay together and fight through some things.
We were down 12 with eight minutes to go. They stuck together that's what you want from a veteran team."
Head coach Jose Fernandez on the total team effort:
"The frustration carried over for Kit, but she stayed the course. We were down six, and she kept playing without having a basket, but she willed it to happen. I think Laura did some really good things, Alyssa Rader was an impact player and Laia Flores controlled the tempo down the stretch. It was a good team finding a way to win. We were in that position at Oklahoma and we didn't respond. Today we responded and that's great to see."
 
Key Stats
31 – The number of trips USF took to the free-throw line. The Bulls finished 26-of-31 from the charity stripe, including 7-for-10 in the overtime period.
11 – The Bulls held the Flyers to 11 second chance points and dominated the glass with a 55-30 rebound advantage.
 
Notables

• The Bulls improved to 3-1 in neutral site outings.
• USF picked up its first program win over Dayton and evened the series at 1-1.  
• Flores has had at least seven assists in seven of the Bulls' 12 games. The senior point guard turned in her third 10-plus assists performance this season with 10 assists.
• Laksa's 29-points was her eighth 20-point outing this season.
• Rader's double-double was the 14^th of her career. The redshirt-sophomore recorded 13 double-doubles at Northern Arizona. 

Up Next
The Bulls will play their last game prior to the start of conference action Thursday against Michigan State. USF will play its second and final game at the New Orleans Shootout Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
 
About USF Women's Basketball
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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 –