ST. THOMAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS,  Nov. 24, 2018 – No. 17 USF women's basketball bounced back and defeated UCLA, an Elite Eight team in the NCAA tournament last season, 60-56 in the final game of the 2018 Paradise Jam Island Division on Saturday night. 
 
Freshman Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) led the Bulls in the Paradise Jam, setting or tying her career high in scoring in each of the three games, and earning a game-high 19 points against the Bruins (3-4) and being named the Island Division Tournament All-Star Team. 
 
USF improved to 5-2 on the season, and will enjoy five days without competition before hosting New Hampshire on Friday, Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. ET back at home in the Yuengling Center, after a grueling three games in three days, and four games in six days, all against power five opponents.  
 
In an intense defensive first quarter, both teams were held to jusr six points in the first ten minutes until a buzzer-beating three sunk in for UCLA and the Bulls were down 9-6 to start the second quarter. 
 
USF rolled in the second quarter, outscoring UCLA 25-9, as the Bulls made nine-of-10 free throws in the quarter. The Bulls took a 31-18 lead into the locker room, but UCLA cut the deficit to as little as six by the third quarter media timeout. USF stayed safe with a 47-38 advantage heading into the final period, where UCLA outscored USF 18-13 to get within three on three occasions, including the final 13 seconds. But Laura Ferreira hit a free throw to stretch the lead to four and seal the victory for USF. 
 
After Harvey's game-high 19, Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) scored 14 points and had five rebounds on the night. Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy) had seven points and five assists, while Alyssa Rader (Thornton, Colo.) had six points from two crucial three-pointers on the night. Tamara Henshaw (Palm Coast, Fla.) had six points and seven rebounds on the night, while Shae Leverett recorded her first career start and had four minutes and a game-high nine rebounds, including seven offensive boards, on the night. Beatriz Jordao (Pombal, Portugal) rounded out the scoring with four points and added five rebounds on the night. 
 
Also on the All-Star team was most valuable player Rhyne Howard from Kentucky, Kennedy Burke from UCLA, Taylor Murray from Kentucky and Stephanie Watts from North Carolina. 
 
Key Stats
19 – Harvey scored a career-high 19 points against UCLA, the third career-high in scoring this week. She has scored 16 points or more against each of USF's power-five opponents this season.  
45 – USF out-rebounded UCLA 45-41, before tonight's matchup, UCLA was out-rebounding opponents 43.3 per game to 34.5 per game. 
 
Notable

• Sydni Harvey was named to the Paradise Jam Island Division All-Star Tournament Team
• Through six games this season, at least three Bulls have scored in double-figures in five games, and two or more in double-figures in all six
• USF just finished a stretch where it took on four power-five teams in six days.
• The Bulls are 3-2 against power-five opponents this season.  
• USF has three scorers averaging in double-figure scoring. 

Up Next
USF will return home after a much-needed rest, and will take on New Hampshire on Friday, Nov. 30 in the Yuengling Center in Tampa at 6 p.m. 
 
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.