NEW ORLEANS, LA. DEC. 21, 2017 – The USF women's basketball team suffered an 83-73 setback Thursday against Michigan State at the New Orleans Shootout. The Bulls had four players in double-figures despite the loss.
 
USF (10-3) capitalized on a 7-0 run early in the first quarter and led by 11. A late rally by the Spartans (9-3) brought the designated home team within one point at the end of the first. Turnovers proved costly as the Spartans led by two at the break and never looked back. Michigan State shot over 50 percent from the floor. The Bulls scored 26 points in the fourth quarter hoping to mount a comeback for the second straight night, but the late offensive surge was too late.
 
The Bulls were led by Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) and Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) with 18 points while Laia Flores (Mataro, Spain) contributed 17 points. Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) added 15 points. Jespersen grabbed a game high 11 rebounds in her seventh double-double this season.
 
QUOTABLES:
Head coach Jose Fernandez on the difference in the game:
"That's too many turnovers. You can't expect to win when you turn the ball over 20 times. Those are the two things we talked about before tonight's game: turnovers and rebounding. We just didn't defend. Credit Michigan State. They put it on the floor, they attacked on the bounce and they hurt us in transition. That was the biggest difference, we struggled guarding them off the bounce.
 
Head coach Jose Fernandez on the Bulls playing four games in seven days:
"There were times today that we were trying to make them go, but there was nothing left in the gas tank."
 
Key Stats
20 – The number of turnovers of Bulls committed. Michigan State scored 24 point off of turnovers.   
 
Notables

• The Bulls dropped to 3-2 in neutral site outings.
• Michigan State now leads the all-time series 3-0.  
• USF played four games in seven days for the second time this season. In both stretches, the Bulls went 3-1. 

Up Next
The Bulls will take advantage of the holiday break and return to action Dec. 31. USF opens American Athletic Conference play at the Sun Dome against Tulane. The game is scheduled for noon.
 
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 –