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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE:Nov. 9, 2018
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Bulls Blast Albany 74-37 in Home Opener
With three scorers in double figures, the Bulls doubled up the Great Danes on Friday night in front of 2,269 fans
 
TAMPA, Fla.  Nov. 9, 2018 –No. 22/21 USF women's basketball defeated America East opponent Albany 74-37 at the Yuengling Center on Friday Nov. 9 in front of a season-opening 2,269 fans. 
 
The Bulls blasted the Great Danes out of the Yuengling Center, doubling up the score on the six-time America East champions. USF improved to 2-0 on the year and improved their home-opener record to 16-3 under head coach Jose Fernandez in his 19^thyear. Senior Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) had a stellar night with 21 points, nearly tying her career-high 24 points. Ferreira's outing was her best offensive effort since Dec. 20, 2017 when she scored 22 points. 
 
USF was backed by a 42.9-percent clip from the floor, making 27-of-63 field goals on the night. Rebounding was another major factor in USF's win, the Bulls out-rebounded the Great Danes 52-to-29. This is the second consecutive game the Bulls out-rebounded their opponents after USF grabbed 48 boards in comparison to Ohio State's 32 earlier this week. 
 
USF held Albany (0-1) to just 37 points, the first time the Great Danes have been held to less than 40 points since 2016. Three Bulls scored in double figures to help USF double up the score on the Danes: including Ferreira with 21, Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) with 13 and Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) with 10. 
 
Additionally, two Bulls grabbed double-digit boards in the landslide victory against Albany, Tamara Henshaw (Palm Coast, Fla.) with 11 and Alyssa Rader (Thornton, Colo.) with a game-high of 12 boards on the night. This is the second consecutive game that Rader has earned double-figure rebounds, also pulling down 12 against Ohio State. In 2017-18, Rader only pulled down double-figure boards twice on the year. 
 
USF led the entire 40 minutes, and jumped out early to a 24-10 lead in the first quarter behind a 12-0 run, and Albany could never recover. USF never allowed Albany to score more than 12 points in a quarter, and held the Danes to just five points in the third quarter. 
 
Scoring Summary
Freshman Beatriz Jordao (Pombal, Portugal) had seven points, nine rebounds and four blocks on the night while fellow freshman Harvey added three rebounds, five assists and a steal to her line. Rader added three points and two assists while Laksa also added two rebounds and two assists. Both Enna Pehadzic (Horsens, Denmark) and Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italty) had four points on the night and Pinzan added two assists and a steal. Makaela Kestner (Bealeton, Va.) chipped in two points and a rebound while Shae Leverett (Rincon, Ga.) had four points, four rebounds and one block. Henshaw rounded out the Bulls scoring with six points in addition to her 11 rebounds, one assist and one block. 
 
Quotable by Jose Fernandez
"I think we got off to a good start." head coach Jose Fernandez said of the team effort. "There might not be enough basketballs for the players on this team. We only have 40 minutes to share between them." 
 
Key Stats
52 – USF totaled 52 rebounds against the Danes, while Albany recorded just 29. 
42.9 – The Bulls shot 42.9 percent from the floor on the night
74 – USF doubled Albany's score of 37 points.
 
Notable

• Laura Ferreira scored 21 points, her best outing since December 2018. 
• Senior Kitija Laksa scored 13 points and has 658 more points to chase the all-time scoring record at USF. 
• 10 of Kitija's 13 points came in the first quarter.
• The last time Albany was held to less than 40 points was in 2016.
• The 2-0 start for the Bulls has marked five straight years they have started their season with two straight wins. 

Up Next
The Bulls take on Bethune-Cookman on Thursday, Nov. 15 at the Yeungling Center at 7 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.
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