Bulls Start Road Swing at Houston
Matchup:USF Bulls (15-12, 6-7 AAC) vs. Houston Cougars (15-11, 9-
4AAC)
Date: Wednesday Feb. 27, 2019
Time:8 p.m. ET
Location: Houston, Texas, Fertitta Center
Radio: AM 1040&
Bulls Unlimitedin progress (
Darek Sharp)
Watch:ESPN3
Live Stats: UHCougars.com
Twitter Updates:@USFWBB
TAMPA, Fla. Feb. 26, 2019 – USF women's basketball will travel to take on Houston on Wednesday night in the Fertitta Center at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
USF (15
-12, 6-7 AAC) is on a three-game winning streak, last defeating Wichita State 55-46 on Saturday night at the Yuengling Center in Tampa. USF beat ECU 63-50 on the road behind a 19-0 fourth-quarter run. This week, the Bulls have back-to-back road games at Houston and Cincinnati before coming home to host UConn on Monday, March 4 for senior night.
Freshman
Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) leads USF in scoring with 12.3 points per game, but has missed the last three contests due to concussion protocol. Pehadzic is right behind with 11.5 points per game. In conference play, she leads the active Bulls with 15.7 points per game.
Tamara Henshaw (Palm Coast, Fla.) and
Shae Leverett (Rincon, Ga.) each lead USF on the boards with 7.9 per game and are a pair of USF's deadliest defenders.
Pehadzic Earns Fourth Honor Roll
Pehadzic scored a career-high 35 points in USF's victory at ECU, including 16 fourth-quarter points to seal the win, earning her a spot on The American Weekly Honor Roll. The 35 points is the highest by any American Athletic Conference player this season in a single game, outscoring fellow teammate
Laura Ferreira who scored 34 in November. Prior to December, Pehadzic had never scored in double figures and has since done so 16 times. From sleeper to darling, Pehadzic has stepped up to help USF in its time of need, with up to six Bulls missing games throughout the season due to injury in 2018-19.
Fernandez Wins 350
Head Coach
Jose Fernandez won his 350
thgame on Saturday night against Wichita State in the Yuengling Center. Fernandez owns a 350-255 all-time coaching record, all coming at USF over 19 seasons.
Play4Kay National Free Throw Challenge
USF is participating in the Play4Kay National Free Throw Challenge, where fans have the opportunity to pledge per free throw made by USF during the month of February. Help USF get to the top of the leaderboard by visiting KayYow.com and donating to USF's team page.
Battered Bulls
South Florida has been limited to just nine healthy players and as few as eight recently, with five Bulls carrying the bulk of the minutes. Adversity struck the Bulls this season, who have been without six players at various points of the season, including three Bulls out for the season. Harvey was the lone Bull to play and start in all contests before she missed the last two contests due to concussion protocol.
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 miss the rest 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) has missed action due to illness.
Alyssa Rader missed five games due to concussion protocol before returning to the lineup and Harvey has missed three also for concussion protocol.
Boards for the Bulls
Rebounding has been a weapon for the Bulls, who are out-performing opponents on the boards by 10.9 per game, good enough for fifth nationally. USF ranks 10th nationally in total rebounds (1,191) this season and eighth nationally in rebounds per game (44.1).
The Opponent
Houston Cougars
Houston is on a four-game winning streak, dating back to its last meeting with USF on Feb. 10 in the Yuengling Center, a tight 54-52 contest where the Bulls fell in the final minute. Houston is 15-11 overall, and 9-4 conference play, falling to UConn, Cincinnati, UCF and Temple this season.
Houston is led by Dorian Branch with 10.8 points per game and Serithia Hawkins on the boards with 7.3 rebounds per game. In conference play, Branch leads the Cougars with 13.1 points per game.
Notable
Follow the Action
Fans can follow the action on ESPN3. Live radio will be on AM 1040 and on BullsUnlimited in progress after the USF men's basketball coaches show with
Darek Sharp on the call. Live stats will be available on UHCougars.com.
Up Next
USF will continue its road swing at Cincinnati on Saturday, March 2 at 12 p.m. before returning home to face UConn on Monday, March 4 at 7 p.m. in the Yuengling Center.
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 –
