BATON ROUGE, La.,  Dec. 30, 2018 – USF women's basketball fell 49-78 at Louisiana State University on Sunday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in its final nonconference game of the season. 
 
Costly turnovers and a first quarter scoring drought doomed USF (9-5) from the start. LSU (9-3) took immediate control and jumped out to a commanding 21-0 lead due to dooming Bulls' turnovers. USF broke up the run with an Enna Pehadzic (Horsens, Denmark) jumper, but LSU ran for six more points. Pehadzic hit back-to-back jumpers before LSU laid it in for a 6-29 deficit. Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) hit a jumper of her own before LSU laid it in once again and USF trailed 31-8 after the first quarter. 
 
USF made adjustments but could not keep up with 63.6 percent LSU shooting from the field. Seventeen Bulls' turnovers and 15 fouls halted USF in the first half, which allowed LSU to score 32 points in the paint and 24 off of turnovers. 
 
The Bulls came out fighting in the second half and outscored the Lady Tigers 33-28. In true USF fashion, the Bulls outrebounded the Lady Tigers 37-33 in the outcome. USF's offense never caught momentum, despite highlights from freshmen Makaela Kestner (Bealeton, Va.) who hit her first career three-pointer and Luize Septe (Ventspils, Latvia), who hit two field goals for her first career pointws in her first day as a Bull. LSU shot 50 percent from the field and ended with 40 points in the paint and 28 off of turnovers. 
 
On the night, Pehadzic led USF with 12 points and had four rebounds while Ferreira ended with 11 points , three rebounds, two assists and a block. Shae Leverett (Rincon, Ga.) was a breath of fresh air in the second half, supplying USF with 10 points and seven rebounds. Notably, Tamara Henshaw had six points and seven rebounds and Septe had four points, two rebounds and two assists. Kestner hit her three-pointer for three points and Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) was limited to just two free throws on the night due to LSU's defense and USF turnovers. Janeta Rozentale (Dobeles, Latvia) added a made free throw to round out USF's scoring. 
 
 
Key Stats
3 – Three Bulls scored in double figures including Pehadzic with 12, Ferreira with 11 and Leverett with 10.    
36 – 36 of USF's 49 points came off the bench. 
 
Notable

• USF falls to 9-5 on the year, with four of its losses coming from ACC or SEC teams. USF owns wins over Big Ten, Big XII, and Pac-12 teams. 
• Enna Pehadzic has scored in double figures for six consecutive games. 
• USF has had two or more Bulls score in double figures in each game this season.
• In USF fashion, the Bulls outrebounded the Lady Tigers 37-33. 

 
Up Next
USF will begin conference play on Saturday, Jan. 5 at Temple in Philadelphia at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. 
 
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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