USF Athletics

No. 22/21 Bulls Set to Open 2018-19 Season at Ohio State

November 06, 2018

Matchup:No. 22/21 USF Bulls (0-0) at  (RV) Ohio State (0-0)
Date:  Tuesday, Nov. 6  2018
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Columbus, Ohio // Value City Arena
Watch: BTN Plus
Radio: AM 1040 (DarekSharp & Brigid Merenda)
Live Stats: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Twitter Updates:@USFWBB
 
TAMPA, Fla.  Nov. 6, 2018 –With much anticipation, the No. 22/21 USF women's basketball team will open the 2018-19 campaign at Ohio State on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Value City Arena. 
 
USF returns to the court ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press and No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches polls. The Bulls are bolstered by WBCA All-America Honorable Mention Kitija Laksa in the backcourt, returning for her senior season in the green and gold. Laura Ferreira, fifth-year senior also returns at the wing for the Bulls and will join returning starters Alyssa Rader and Tamara Henshaw. 
 
Jose Fernandez returns to lead the Bulls for his 19^thseason at the helm and is the winningest coach in USF history, seeking his 350^thwin this season (335-243). Fernandez has seven letterwinners in his arsenal joining a recruiting class of six true freshmen. USF will look to replace graduating seniors Maria Jespersen and Laia Flores with a pair of freshmen point guards: Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) and Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy) and a new face from Pombal, Portugal, Beatriz Jordao, will make an immediate impact at center for USF. Janeta Rozentale (Riga, Latvia) will add depth at forward while Makaela Kestner (Bealeton, Va.) joins the freshmen class at guard and Iris Tsafara (Athens, Greece) rounds out the freshman group at guard. 
 
 
Quotable by Jose Fernandez
"I think it's a great night opening up with such a decorated program on the road which is rich in tradition and has such a great fan base," head coach Jose Fernandez said. "I believe it's a great opportunity and test for both programs."
 
The Opponent
Ohio State enters the game following a 2018 Big Ten Championship, but is looking to replace all five starters and 93.3 percent of its scoring from last season. The 12 buckeyes include five graduate transfers and three true freshmen. They are led by head coach Kevin McGuff in his sixth season in Columbus. In 2018, Ohio State advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament before being knocked off 95-78 by Central Michigan. 
 
Graduate transfer Carmen Grande could prove to be a handful for USF, who was second in the country last season with 9.2 assists per game and is on the Nancy Lieberman Preseason Watch List. Despite having a new roster makeup, many Buckeyes have experience at other Division I institutions and could step into the gap left by five departing starters.
 
Notable

• This is the third meeting all-time between the two programs and the series history is tied 1-1. Last season in Tampa, Kitija Laksa shot the lights out with 41 points on the night. 
• USF begins its 47^thseason of women's basketball tonight and its 19^thunder the guidance of Fernandez, the first USF women's basketball season was in 1972. 
• Senior Kitija Laksa will begin tonight to chase the all-time leading scoring record at USF, she is 688 points away. 
• USF was picked second in the AAC preseason poll, only behind top-finishing UConn. 
• Kitija Laksa was named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Preseason Watch List for the second consecutive year. In 2017-18, she was one of five finalists. 
• Laksa was a unanimous first team selection in the AAC preseason, while senior Laura Ferreira was named to the second team. 

 
Watch Live
 The game will be available to stream on BTN Plus with a subscription. Bulls fans are encouraged to follow the call of Darek Sharp with Brigid Merenda adding color on AM 1040 radio. 
 
About Kitija Laksa 
With USF, Laksa broke the junior scoring record with 717 points in her junior season. She set two NCAA records in 2017-18, including free-throw percentage with 96.5 percent efficiency, and consecutive three-pointers made in a game with 11 on Dec. 15, 2017. The Riga, Latvia native averaged 21.1 points per game on the year and returns in 2018-19 as the Bulls' leading scorer for her senior season. 
 
Laksa currently ranks sixth in program history on the all-time scoring list, amassing 1,715 points in her career. She will chase the all-time scoring record at USF in 2018-19, currently held by Jessica Dickson (2003-07) with 2,402 points.   
About USF Women's Basketball
To stay up-to-date on the latest USF women's basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
 
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.