NEW ORLEANS, FEB. 3, 2018 – The University of South Florida scored 25 points from the charity stripe to seal its third-straight win at Tulane Saturday. The Bulls escaped the Devlin Fieldhouse with a 63-53 win.
 
The lead only changed four times, but the Bulls (18-5, 8-2 The American) trailed for the first 17 minutes of the contest. A 6-0 run, sparked by lay-up by Shae Leverett (Rincon, Ga.) gave USF a 33-27 advantage at the break. Leverett only played 13 minutes, but grabbed seven rebounds.
 
Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) turned in 21 points for her third straight 20-point outing. The senior forward also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds in her fourth double-double in the last five games. Jespersen finished 14-for-16 from the free throw line. Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) scored 10 of her 12 points at the charity stripe, finishing a perfect 10-for-10 from the line.

Key Stats
25 – The Bulls went 25-for-28 from the charity stripe, the most free throws made in a single game this season.
51 – USF outrebounded Tulane, 51-26. The Bulls have grabbed 50-plus rebounds seven times this season, including in each of the last three games.  
20 – The Bulls scored 20 second chance-points for the second straight contest.   
26 – USF outscored its opponent in the paint for the sixth time in the last seven outings. The Bulls netted 26 points in the paint.

Notable

• USF has held opponents to single digits in a quarter 17 times this season. The Bulls held Washington State scoreless, Houston Baptist to four points and Tulsa to five points in a single quarter.
• Maria Jespersen has scored 20-plus points for the ninth time this season. She has led the team in scoring six times in The American.
• Jespersen has grabbed a team-best 12 double-doubles.
• The Bulls improved to 7-2 on the road this season.
• USF evened the series record at Tulane to 8-8 all time. The Bulls improved to 19-18 in the series and have won the last 10 meetings.
• USF is two wins away from their sixth-straight 20-win season.

Up Next
USF returns to Tampa for a three-game home stand. The Bulls host East Carolina Feb. 7 at 7 p.m.  
 
About USF Women's Basketball
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USF notched its fifth consecutive 20-win season. The Bulls tallied its 20th win in their 24th contest of the season which tied the fastest any program has reached 20 wins. This is the eighth 20-win season in program history and head coach Jose Fernandez has been at the helm for all eight 20-win seasons. The 2014-15 team reached 20 wins in 24 games, and still currently holds the best record for most wins in a season (27).
 
USF has made 13 postseason tournament appearances and had five NCAA Tournament berths in Head Coach Jose Fernandez's 17 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to eight 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 300 games.
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