PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 5, 2019 – USF women's basketball defeated Temple 63-53 in the American Athletic Conference opener on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia behind double-figure scoring from four Bulls. 
 
USF (10-5) jumped out to a 19-11 first-quarter lead, and overcame numerous Owls (4-9) attacks to come away with its first conference victory. Early in the third quarter, USF forced Temple to call a timeout when the Bulls' took a 35-24 lead and held a 18-6 margin in offensive rebounds. The Owls got within four points of the Bulls midway through the fourth quarter, but a string of four Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) points and Enna Pehadzic's (Horsens, Denmark) lone three-pointer of the night lengthened USF's lead to seal its first win of the new year. 
 
Shae Leverett neared a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six blocks. She added one steal and an assist to her impressive stat line. In one minute and 14 seconds, Leverett blocked Temple's Marissa Mackins' shot, recovered an offensive rebound and put the ball back in. She then blocked another Temple attempt and picked up the defensive rebound. On the other end, she recovered a USF rebound where she drew a foul on the attempted put back. In the tustle, her contact lens fell out and Leverett missed two free throws without her corrective lens. The Leverett leverage continued when Ferreira recovered the rebound from Leverett's missed free throw, passed it to Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) who missed a layup, perfectly staged for Leverett to get her third offensive board and second put-back make in one minute and 14 seconds. 
 
Enna Pehadzic had a career high 13 rebounds to help USF out-perform Temple on the glass 57-40, including a 26-14 offensive rebounding margin. USF is outrebounding opponents by 12.7 on the year. 
 
Harvey paced USF with 19 points, and added six rebounds and three assists. Laura Ferreira had 16 points with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Alyssa Rader (Thornton, Colo.) had 10 points, seven rebounds, one steal and one block. 
 
Key Stats
4 – Four Bulls scored in double figures including Harvey with 19, Ferreira with 16, and Rader and Leverett with 10 apiece.
6 – Shae Leverett had a career high six blocks
10 – USF had a season high 10 team steals and
10s – Leverett had her second double-double of the year with 10 rebounds and 10 points
 
Notable

• USF has had two or more Bulls score in double figures in each game this season.
• In USF fashion, the Bulls outrebounded the Owls 57-40. 
• Shae Leverett had her second double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds. 
• Leverett had a career-high six blocks.
• Enna Pehadzic had a career-high 13 rebounds and three steals. 
• USF had a season-high 10 team steals. 

 
Up Next
USF will return home for the War on I-4 when the Bulls take on UCF on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in a white-out game where fans are invited to wear white and the first 1,500 fans will receive free t-shirts. 
 
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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