USF Athletics

Excitement Builds as Bulls Prepare for Another Big Season

October 18, 2018

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, OCT. 18, 2018 – With the season opener less than three weeks away, USF women's basketball motored through its 16^th practice Wednesday and anticipation continues to build for the Bulls.

"Everyone is excited and everyone wants to start playing," redshirt senior wing Laura Ferreira said.

Fresh off its fourth straight NCAA tournament trip, USF opens its 2018-19 slate with a tough test at Ohio State on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Head coach Jose Fernandez's Bulls defeated then-No. 13 Ohio State, 84-65, last season before the Buckeyes booked a trip to the Sweet 16.

Bulls fans can catch USF at home for the first time against University at Albany on Nov. 9 and soon after the Bulls will take on Oklahoma in the Yuengling Center on Nov. 18. Oklahoma will mark the second of USF's eight games against NCAA tournament teams from last season before the Bulls jump into conference play.

"Right now we have a very, very hard time getting games," said Fernandez, who led the Bulls to their sixth straight 20-plus win season in 2017-18. "I'm thankful for the people that we've done the home-and-home situations with because for us, and where our program is at, we've got to be challenged in November-December and we take pride in that."

Leading the Bulls' pursuit of another NCAA tourney trip will be six returning letter winners and four returning starters, including All-American senior wing Kitija Laksa. The Latvian star recently returned from the FIBA Women's World Cup in Spain and likes what she's seeing from the Bulls in practice.

"I'm excited about the new kids we have here. I'm excited about how the returners look," Laksa said. "I really believe we have the pieces. Right now we just have to learn how to put them together for our team to work and be great."

Names Change, But Winning Expectation Doesn't
Under Fernandez, USF expects to compete in the conference championship game and book a trip to the NCAA tournament each season.

Another program expectation is for student-athletes to graduate, which means the Bulls are constantly having to keep their winning tradition going with reloaded rosters.

"That's what really good programs do – the thing continues and the show goes on," Fernandez said. "Year after year, you do that by developing your kids within your program and by continuing to recruit high level student-athletes."

USF did that again with a talented incoming class that features six freshmen, including five-star recruits Beatriz Jordao (Portugal) and Elisa Pinzan (Italy).

Fernandez is looking for Jordao, a 6-foot-3 center, to make an "immediate impact" for the Bulls inside while they've replenished their point guard talent with Pinzan and freshman Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.).

Rated a five-star recruit by both Blue Star Europe and Passion Hoops, Pinzan previously played in the top league in Italy after representing her country in the U-18 European Championships and U-19 World Cup in the summer of 2017. 

"Pinzan has had a lot of international experience as far as in the half-court setting," Fernandez said. "She understands middle pick-and-roll, side pick-and-roll situations."

Harvey also brings lots of potential after scoring 2,000 career points at Brentwood Academy, which won four TSSAA Division II-AA state titles while she played for the school in Tennessee.

"I think we can go at two different paces. Harvey is a different type," Fernandez said. "She's more downhill and can get to the basket. What I've been impressed with her is how hard she's worked on her perimeter game."

 Bulls Bits

• ROZENTALE JOINS THE MIX: Wednesday was a big day for freshman forward Janeta Rozentale, who practiced for the first time this season after being sidelined with an ankle injury. Latvia's U18-19 regular averaged 12.7 points and 12.5 rebounds for club team TTT Riga Juniores in 2017-18. "I like her added length and versatility," said head coach Jose Fernandez of the talented 6-footer. "She can be a big wing and also a stretch four."
• LAKSA, FERREIRA EARN CONFERENCE HONORS: Returning stars Kitija Laksa and Laura Ferreira recently returned from The American's basketball media day, where they earned preseason all-conference honors. Laksa was a unanimous first-team pick while Ferreira was selected to the second team. "They're going to garner a lot of the attention and deservedly so because of what they've done here in their career," Fernandez said. "When you've got two seniors like that, I'm really excited."
• MORE ON JORDAO: Fernandez has great expectations for freshman center Beatriz Jordao, who has the ability to do a lot for the Bulls this season. "She can step out and knock down the 15-17 footer," Fernandez said. "She can play with her back to the basket and she's a very, very good passer." In Jordao, USF has added more international experience with a player that's performed well for Portugal's U-20 team. "That was a kid we recruited for a long time," Fernandez said. "Michele (Woods-Baxter) did a great job with her and we're excited she's here."

 
About USF Women's Basketball
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USF notched its sixth consecutive 20-win season and fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017-18. It marked the ninth 20-win season in program history, with head coach Jose Fernandezat the helm for all nine. The Bulls posted 26 wins in 2017-18, just shy of the program record of 27 set in 2008-09 and 2014-15. 
 
USF has made 14 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez's 18 seasons. The all-time winningestcoach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to nine 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 300 games.