Bulls Travel to Cincinnati Wednesday
Matchup: No. 24 USF (11-3, 1-0 The American) at Cincinnati (9-5, 1-0 The American)
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 3
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio | Saint Ursula Academy
Watch: Bearcats.TV | http://bit.ly/2EpAfCB
Radio: AM 1040 | GoUSFBulls.com (
Darek Sharp)
Follow: Listen | Live Stats | Twitter
TAMPA, JAN. 2, 2018 – The USF women's basketball team opens 2018 on the road at Cincinnati Wednesday. The Bulls will face the Bearcats at Saint Ursula Academy at 7 p.m.
Fans can catch Wednesday's game online via Bearcats.TV or can listen to the game on AM 1040 or on GoUSFBulls.com.
The Bulls (11-3, 1-0 The American) opened American Athletic Conference play on New Year's Eve with a dominant 75-46 win over Tulane. USF started league play 1-0 for the fourth consecutive season.
Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) finished with a game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds in the senior's eighth double-double outing. Jespersen's 11 rebounds moved her within one board of 700 career rebounds.
Junior guard
Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) connected for four three-point field goals against Tulane and improved her season average to the nation's best 4.36 three-point field goals per game. Laksa's 22.2 points per game lead The American and rank eighth in country.
Laia Flores' (Mataro, Spain) 11 assists and two turnover outing brought her season assist-to-turnover ratio to 4.36 which ranks second in Division I.
THE OPPONENT
Cincinnati (9-5, 1-0 The American) has won three of its last four outings, its lone loss was to No. 12 Ohio State. The Bearcats are 7-3 at home this season, splitting their home games between Saint Ursula Academy and Cincinnati State while Fifth Third Arena is being renovated on Cincinnati's campus. Cincinnati defeated East Carolina, 66-54, in its league opener and senior guard Ana Owens led all scorers with 18 points.
The Bulls and Bearcats will meet for the 31
st time in program history. The series dates back to 1996 and USF holds a 16-14 series advantage. The Bulls have won the last nine meetings. The pair last met in Tampa on Feb. 1, 2017 and the Bulls ran away with a 72-52 victory.
NOTABLES
- USF looks to start league action 2-0 for the fourth consecutive season.
- The Bulls are 2-1 on the road this season.
- USF has taken care of the basketball throughout the season and averages just 11.4 turnovers per game, which rank fourth nationally.
- Laia Flores leads the league in three different categories: assist-turnover ratio (4.36), assists (96) and assists per game (6.9). She ranks in the top 12 nationally in all three categories.
- USF is currently receiving votes in the AP poll and No. 24 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll. The Bulls started the season ranked No. 23/22 and peaked at No. 16 (AP – week 4) and No. 16 (Coaches – weeks 3-4). USF has been ranked in the coaches' poll every week and has received votes in every AP Poll. The program's highest ranking in both polls was in 2016, when the Bulls were ranked No. 15 (AP – Jan. 18 | Coaches – Jan. 19).
To stay up-to-date on the latest USF women's basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (
Twitter |
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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.
– #GoBulls –
