ST. THOMAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS, Nov. 22, 2018 – In the opening game of the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, No. 17 USF fell 85-63 to Kentucky in USF's second game against a Power Five opponent in four days. USF will bounce back on the second day of the Paradise Jam when they take on North Carolina at 3 p.m. ET.
Freshman
Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) was a bright spot on the day for USF, tying her career-high in points scored with 16, including a career-high four threes made in 31 minutes of play.
Despite getting off to a slow start, the 17
th-ranked Bulls were deadlocked with Kentucky at 20 points apiece heading into the second quarter. But Kentucky outscored the Bulls 24-8 in the second quarter, and USF never recovered from the 44-28 halftime deficit. The full-court press proved to be too much for the young Bulls in the backcourt, and USF and Kentucky mismatched in the Wildcats' favor.
Though USF improved its scoring effort in the second half, the Wildcats stretched the deficit to as much as 27 in the fourth quarter. Nineteen fourth-quarter points helped USF get within 20, but losing Harvey to five fouls and a cold shooting night doomed the Bulls.
USF falls to 4-1 on the season while Kentucky improves to 5-0. Over the next two days, USF will face North Carolina and UCLA in the island division of the Paradise Jam.
The Bulls were boosted by three scorers in double figures including Harvey,
Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) with 10 and
Beatriz Jordao (Pombal, Portugal) with 12.
Alyssa Rader (Thornton, Colo.) had a game-high 10 rebounds. Kentucky shot the lights out in the second and fourth quarters with a 57.1 percent shooting effort on an 8-of-14 clip in the fourth and a 58.3 percent efficiency on 7-of-12 from the field in the second quarter.
Key Stats
4 – Freshman
Sydni Harvey set a new career high with four three-pointers made on the night
16 – Harvey has scored a career-high 16 points three times this season, all three times against Power Five opponents.
8 –Scoring just eight second-quarter points sealed the setback for USF.
Notable
- USF is in the middle of a stretch where it takes on four power-five teams in six days.
- The Bulls are 4-1 on the young campaign without senior guard Kitija Laksa, who is out for the season with injury
- USF last fell to Kentucky in the 2014 Paradise Jam.
Up Next
USF now looks to continue its stretch of four Power Five opponents in six days as the Bulls will take on North Carolina on Friday, Nov. 23 and round out the tournament with RV UCLA on Saturday, Nov. 24
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 Fernandez at 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 winningest coach 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.
--#GoBulls –
