USF Athletics

No. 22/21 Bulls Set to Host Home Opener Against Albany

November 09, 2018

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• USF Game Notes

Matchup:No. 22/21 USF Bulls (1-0) vs. Albany Great Danes (0-0)
Date:  Friday, Nov. 8  2018
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Tampa, Florida // Yuengling Center
Radio: Bulls Unlimited DarekSharp & Brigid Merenda)
Live Stats: GoUSFBulls.com
Twitter Updates:@USFWBB
 
TAMPA, Fla.  Nov. 9, 2018 –The No. 22/21 USF women's basketball team is set to host its home opener on Friday night against the Albany Great Danes at the Yuengling Center at 7 p.m. 
 
The Bulls opened their season on the road where they defeated defending Big Ten Champion Ohio State 71-47 in dominating fashion. USF was led by senior standout Kitija Laksa with 17 points and had two freshmen exceed all expectations in point guard Sydni Harvey who racked up 17 points of her own and Beatriz Jordao, who recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in her debut. 
 
USF held Ohio State to under 50 points for the first time since the 2015 season. Free throws powered the Bulls, who got into the bonus early in nearly every quarter, and USF hit 24-of-29 from the charity stripe. Rebounds told the story of the night for the Bulls' performance, who grabbed 48 boards as a team in comparison to Ohio State's 32 total rebounds.  
 
Quotable by Jose Fernandez
"This early schedule has worked out well for us," head coach Jose Fernandez said. "We have the next three games at home and this is a critical week for us."
 
The Opponent
This is the first meeting between the two programs, and the Great Danes are a bit elusive, as tonight's match will be their season debut.  Albany has nine returning players on their roster but almost an entirely new coaching staff, with Colleen Mullen in her first season at the helm. 
 
Before Albany, Mullen spent seven seasons with the Army Black Knights, serving as an assistant coach for one season before serving six years as associate head coach. 
 
The Great Danes boast six America East conference titles, but fell short in 2017-18. Albany took a trip to the WNIT in 2018 but fell in the first round to Penn 76-61. Albany last defeated a ranked opponent in 2015-16 when the Danes defeated Florida in the first round of the NCAA tournament. 
 
Notable

• USF is 15-3 in home opener's under head coach Jose Fernandez 
• Senior Kitija Laksa is chasing the all-time leading scoring record at USF and is 671 points away. 
• USF was picked second in the AAC preseason poll, only behind top-finishing UConn. 
• Beatriz Jordao is the only Bull this decade to debut in green and gold with a double-double.  

Listen Live
Bulls fans are encouraged to follow the call of Darek Sharp with Brigid Merenda adding color on AM 1040 radio. 
 
Tickets
Fans can purchase tickets at USFBullsTix.com or by calling 1-800-Go-Bulls, or upon arrival at the Yuengling Center. USF students are always admitted for free. 
 
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.