By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

UNCASVILLE, Conn., MARCH 6, 2018 – No. 19 USF turns its attention to the NCAA tournament after falling to No. 1 UConn, 70-54, in the American Athletic Conference tournament championship game Tuesday at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Second-seeded USF (26-7) appeared in its fourth consecutive AAC tournament title game and trailed by only four after the first quarter. The Bulls were within one, but a three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Huskies a four-point cushion. Conference coach of the year Jose Fernandez's Bulls finished strong by outscoring the Huskies, 22-15, in the fourth quarter.

UConn (32-0) captured its fifth straight American Athletic Conference tournament title with its 15^th consecutive league postseason game victory. USF became only the fourth opponent to limit UConn's margin of victory to 16 points or fewer this season.

Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) scored 21 of her game-high 26 points after the break and made program history in the process. The junior sharpshooter sank five shots from long range and set USF's new season record with 121 three-pointers.

Senior Maria Jespersen (Arhus, Denmark) posted nine points and a game-high nine rebounds to help USF finish with a 34-32 advantage on the boards.

Jespersen powered the Bulls with all nine of her points in the first half that saw the Huskies build a 37-23 lead thanks to a big run in the second quarter.

Facing UConn for the third time this season, USF showed lots of fight early and found itself down just 21-17 after the first quarter. The Bulls shot 57 percent in the opening period and were in a one-point game before a buzzer-beating three-pointer by UConn's Kia Nurse.

Jespersen knocked down four of her first seven shots and the senior's three-pointer cut the deficit to 23-20 early in the second quarter. USF's offense cooled off afterward while UConn closed the second quarter on a 14-3 run.

USF scored the first four points after the break to drop the UConn lead to 10, but UConn quickly gained more distance with a 7-0 run and took a 55-32 advantage into the final period. Laksa made program history in the third quarter with her USF season record 118^th three-pointer to reach double-digit scoring figures for the 31st time this season.

Laksa stayed locked in during the fourth quarter, when she poured in 16 points to reach the 20-point mark for the 17^th time this season.

Quotable
Head coach Jose Fernandez on the Bulls' solid comeback effort in the fourth quarter and their season effort being worthy of earning a bid to host NCAA tournament games:
"I was proud of our group in that fourth quarter with the way that we battled and we made shots. We continued to claw at the lead. There's a reason why they're undefeated and who they are, but I think we showed everybody in the country how good we are as well, and how well we're playing right now. (I think that shows) we deserve to be a host and one of the top four seeds, and continue to play basketball in the first two rounds in Tampa. Four of our losses have come with three to Connecticut and one to Notre Dame. I think we've done our part. We scheduled in the nonconference and I think we're playing our best basketball right now."

Key Stats
17 – UConn scored 17 points off 14 USF turnovers.
16 – USF became one of only four UConn opponents to limit the Huskies' margin of victory to 16 points or fewer this season.
15 – UConn held the Bulls to 15 points in the second and third quarters, which helped the Huskies take a 55-32 lead into the final period.
1-for-11 – USF was in a three-point game in the second quarter before going 1-for-11 from the field the rest of the period while UConn went on a 14-3 run.

Notable

• USF remains one victory away from matching the program season record of 27 wins (2008-09, 2014-15).
• Kitija Laksa and Maria Jespersen were named to the American Athletic Conference all-tournament team.
• Laksa set USF's new season three-pointer record (121) after knocking down five shots from long range against UConn. Janae Stokes set the previous record with 117 three-pointers in 2008-09.
• Laksa also moved up to third on USF's season scoring list with 689 points.
• Jespersen moved up to sixth on USF's season rebounds list (318) after posting a game-high nine boards against the Huskies.
• USF checked in at No. 19 in both the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll this week. View the complete top-25 rankings HERE.

Up Next
The NCAA tournament bracket will be revealed during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m. (TV: ESPN).

The first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament take place Friday, March 16 and Monday, March 19. Get more tournament info HERE.
 
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USF notched its sixth consecutive 20-win season with an 84-65 romp of No. 13 Ohio State. This is the ninth 20-win season in program history and head coach Jose Fernandez has been at the helm for all nine 20-win seasons. The 2008-09 and 2014-15 teams hold the record for most wins in a season (27).