Bulls Set for Tilt at No. 3 UConn

Bulls Set for Tilt at No. 3 UConn

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Matchup:USF Bulls (10-6, 1-1 AAC) vs. No. 3 UConn Huskies (13-1, 2-0 AAC)
Date: Sunday Jan. 13, 2019
Time: 1p.m. ET
Location: Storrs, Conn., Gampel Pavilion    
Broadcast:ESPN (Eric Frede & Rebecca Lobo)
Radio: Bulls Unlimited& AM 1040, (Darek Sharp)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter Updates:@USFWBB
 
TAMPA, Fla.  Jan. 12, 2019 – USF women's basketball will travel to Storrs, Conn., for a road test at No. 3 UConn in a Sunday matinee at 1 p.m. ET at the Gampel Pavilion. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN with Eric Frede and Rebecca Lobo analyzing the action. 
 
USF (10-6, 1-1 AAC) is coming off of a 62-49 loss to UCF in a mid-week matchup in Tampa. Adversity struck the Bulls this season, who are without three of their four top scorers, with two Bulls out for the season. Kitija Laksa, USF's returning leading scorer for the 2018-19 campaign and player of the year candidate, suffered a season-ending injury on Nov. 15. Beatriz Jordao, after a promising start, will forego the remainder of her freshman campaign after a nagging injury won out to end 2018. Senior Laura Ferreira and leading scorer in 2018-19 missed the contest against UCF due to illness and is not expected back with the Bulls for the test against UConn (13-1, 2-0 AAC). 
 
The Bulls look to freshman Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) to lead USF in scoring and to sophomore Enna Pehadzic (Horsens, Denmark) to carry a bulk of the scoring while USF is limited to nine remaining active players. This will be the second road test for the Bulls, who opened conference play on the road against Temple and pulled out a gritty win 63-53 on Jan. 5. 
 
Honor Rolled Bulls 
Shae Leverett (Rincon, Ga.) and Harvey were named to The American Honor Roll after leading the Bulls over Temple. Leverett posted a near triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks while Harvey had a game-high 19 points. 
 
Harvey's Hot from the Charity Stripe
Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) is hitting 90.3 percent of her shots from the free-throw line, a conference leading statistic. She has made 56-of-62 free throws in 16 games this season. 
 
Boards for the Bulls
Rebounding has been the secret weapon for the Bulls, who are out-performing opponents on the boards by 12.7 per game, good enough for seventh nationally. USF out-rebounded Temple 57-40 in Saturday's gritty road win. 
 
The Opponent
No. 3 UConn Huskies 
UConn spent most of the 2018-19 season at the top of the polls, but dropped to No. 3 this week after suffering a non-conference 68-57 loss to Baylor on Jan. 3. UConn owns a perfect 91-0 record in American Athletic Conference play, and hands USF an average of three losses per season the last four years. Notably, USF averages just 8.75 losses per year, with three of those coming to the Huskies, who have reached the Final Four the last four years and were in the NCAA championship two of those four years. 
 
The Huskies are led by Katie Lou Samuelson, averaging 19.6 points per game and Napheesa Collier with 18.1 points per game. Collier also leads the Huskies on the boards with 10.3 per game. UConn is outcoring their opponents on average by 27.6 per game. USF has the edge on UConn in rebounding, as USF out-rebounds its opponents by 12.3 per game, and UConn out-performs opponents by 8.7 on the boards. 
 
Notable
  • Rebounding is a key for USF, who is out-performing opponents on the boards by 12.3, a good enough margin for seventh nationally and conference-leading statistic.  
  • Shae Leverett and Sydni Harvey were named to the American Honor Roll. 
  • Luize Septe joined the roster on Dec. 30, 2018, a 5-foot-11 freshma wing from Ventspils, Latvia.
  • The Bulls are without Kitija Laksa, Beatriz Jordao and Laura Ferreira in the contest against UConn. 
  • USF posted a perfect nonconference record of 7-0 at home in the Yuengling Center, and took down three opponents who advanced to the NCAA tournament last year. 
Follow the Action
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN with Eric Frede and Rebecca Lobo analyzing the action. Fans can follow the action with live radio on Bulls Unlimited AM 1040 with Darek Sharp on the call. Live stats will be available on StatBroadcast and on GoUSFBulls.com 
 
Up Next
USF will return home for a two-game homestand against Tulane on Jan. 19 at 1 p.m., and against Memphis on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. 
 
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.
--#GoBulls –




 
 
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