Bulls Travel to Dallas for Saturday Matinee at SMU

Bulls Travel to Dallas for Saturday Matinee at SMU

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Matchup:USF Bulls (11-8, 2-3 AAC) vs. SMU Mustangs (7-12, 1-5 AAC)
Date:Saturday, Jan. 25, 2019
Time:1p.m. ET
Location: Dallas, Texas, Moody Coliseum    
Broadcast:American Digital Network (Lincoln Rose & Angela Beck & Austyn Iven)
Radio: AM 1040& Bulls Unlimited(Darek Sharp)
Live Stats: SMUMustangs.com
Twitter Updates:@USFWBB
 
TAMPA, Fla.  Jan. 25, 2019 – USF women's basketball will travel to Dallas to take on SMU in a Saturday matinee at Moody Coliseum at 1 p.m. ET.  
 
USF (11-8, 2-3 AAC) is coming off of an last-minute 47-40 loss to Memphis at the Yuengling Center on Wednesday night. The Bulls overcame a 12-point deficit and held Memphis to a one-point third quarter to come back to lead until the final 20 seconds of the game. Memphis ran for 12 straight points to take down USF. 
 
Tamara Henshaw (Palm Coast, Fla.) had a breakout night for USF, scoring a career-high 16 points in a double-double performance. She had 11 rebounds to reach her double-double, two assists, a block and a steal on the night. Shae Leverett (Rincon, Ga.) neared a triple double with 12 rebounds, eight points, and a career-high seven blocks. 
 
 Adversity struck the Bulls this season, who are without five players for Saturday's game, including three Bulls out for the season. Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia), 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 (Pombal, Portugal), after a promising start, will forego the remainder of her freshman campaign when a nagging injury won out to end 2018. Freshman Silvia Serrat (Banyoles, Spain) is sidelined with a ACL/meniscus tear suffered in the offseason. Senior Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) will miss the action due to illness and junior Alyssa Rader (Thornton, Colo.) is out with a concussion. 
 
The Bulls look to freshman Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) and Enna Pehadzic (Horsens, Denmark) to carry a bulk of the scoring while USF is limited to eight remaining active players. USF depends on Leverett and Henshaw in the paint while Rader and Jordao are out. 
 
Harvey's Hot from the Charity Stripe
Sydni Harvey is hitting 89.6 percent of her shots from the free-throw line, a conference leading statistic. 
 
Harvey Named Freshman of the Week
Sydni Harvey was named the American Freshman of the Week after her career-high night over Tulane. The freshman earned 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and three free throws. The point total led all scorers and set a career high for the freshman. Harvey also sunk 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, tying her career high for three pointers made. She also added a team-high four assists, and went a perfect 3-for-3 from the foul line. On the season, Harvey is the only player in The American shooting above 90 percent from the charity stripe at 90.8 for the season.
 
Boards for the Bulls
Rebounding has been the secret weapon for the Bulls, who are out-performing opponents on the boards by 12.6 per game, good enough for sixth nationally. USF out-rebounded Tulane by 11 in Saturday's victory and out-performed Memphis by 21. 
 
The Opponent
SMU Mustangs
SMU has two Mustangs averaging double-figure scoring, including Alicia Froling with 11.9 points per game and Kayla White with 11.5 per contest. Froling is an American Athletic Conference Preseason All-Conference Second Team selection and also leads the Mustangs on the boards with 10.4 per contest. 
 
SMU's lone conference win comes over Wichita State, a 78-50 dominating victory on Jan. 15, 2019. SMU's last two contests are losses to UCF and UConn in the last seven days. In the all-time series against SMU, USF leads 11-0. 
 
Notable
  • Sydni Harvey was named the American Freshman of the Week and Enna Pehadzic was named to the American Honor Roll for their career-high combination over Tulane on Saturday.
  • USF defeated Tulane by 27, The highest margin in a conference game for USF this year, and the largest winning margin for USF since it defeated Vermont on Dec. 17, 2018.
  • Rebounding is a key for USF, who is out-performing opponents on the boards by 12.9, a good enough margin for sixth nationally and conference-leading statistic.  
  • Sydni Harvey leads the conference in free-throw percentage with 89.6.
  • The Bulls are without Silvia Serrat, Kitija Laksa, Beatriz Jordao, Laura Ferreira and Alyssa Rader in the contest against Tulane. The inactive Bulls average over 50 points this season. 
 
Follow the Action
The game will be broadcast live on the American Digital Network on a free live stream with Lincoln Rose and Angela analyzing the action. Austyn Teva will be reporting from the sideline. Fans can follow the action with live radio on Bulls Unlimited and AM 1040 with Darek Sharp on the call. Live stats will be available on StatBroadcast and on SMUMustangs.com.  
 
Up Next
USF will return home to face Cincinnati on Wednesday Jan. 30 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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