USF Set to Host Houston in Pink Game on Sunday Afternoon
Matchup: USF Bulls (12-11, 3-6 AAC) vs. Houston Cougars (11-11, 4-5 AAC)
Date: Sunday, Feb. 10 2019
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Location: Tampa, Fla., Yuengling Center
Broadcast: ESPN2 (Tiffany Greene & LaChina Robinson)
Radio: AM 1040&
Bulls Unlimited(
Darek Sharp & Brigid Merenda)
Live Stats: GoUSFBulls.com
Twitter Updates: @USFWBB
TAMPA, Fla. Feb. 9, 2019 – USF women's basketball will host Houston in a Sunday matinee in the annual pink game at the Yuengling Center at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and will support the Play4Kay organization to help find a cure for women's cancers.
The game is a part of a doubleheader with USF men's basketball, which will tipoff against ECU at 5:30 p.m.
Play4Kay
Its sure to be a special day for Bulls fans, who are invited to wear pink to support Play4Kay, the largest fundraising initiative under the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Olympic gold-medal winning and Naismith Hall of Fame coach, Kay Yow was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and passed away on Jan. 24, 2009. Coach Yow did not lose her battle to cancer, she turned her battle over to all of us in college basketball.
Fans will also enjoy a family atmosphere complete with a bouce house, sign making, and face painting at Gate A. Five hundred pink rally towels will be given away to fans at all gates.
Fans will be invited to sign a Play4Kay banner and write messagesto breast cancer survivors. A silent auction featuring USF jerseys, pink jerseys and USF shoes will be available. Fans can purchase pink shirts, the same ones that USF women's basketball will warm up in, for $15. Breast cancer survivors will be invited to the court at halftime to be honored, and some will join the team during starting lineups. Pink ribbons will also be available for fans to pin on.
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.
National Girls and Women in Sports Day
Wednesday Feb. 6 served as National Women and Girls in Sports Day. USF is proud to honor this holiday in its women's basketball game on Sunday and invites fans to appreciate the opportunities provided to women through sports.
Last Time Out
USF (12-11, 3-6 AAC) is coming off a 50-45 win over Tulane in New Orleans, completing the season sweep of the Green Wave. Using just seven players, shorthanded USF leaned on its lockdown defense and got back on track with the gutsy victory. The Bulls limited Tulane to 28-percent shooting and saw an impressive 40-minute performance from freshman
Luize Septe (Ventspils, Latvia) on both sides of the floor. She eventually sealed USF's victory with a critical steal and made free throw in the close contest.
Rader Returns
Rader returned to the Bulls healthy roster on Sunday Feb. 3, after suffering a concussion and missing five games in January. She boosted USF with 18 points in 25 minutes of play against UCF and sparked multiple momentum swings for the Bulls, keeping USF fighting for the win until the final minute. Against Tulane, she provided the sixth-man energy off the bench, but also a controlled presence in the paint where she tore down 10 rebounds, eight defensive. She is one of nine healthy Bulls, comprised of five freshmen, available to USF currently.
Battered Bulls
South Florida has been limited to just nine healthy playes and as few as eight, with five Bulls carrying the bulk of the minutes. Adversity struck the Bulls this season, who were without five players and are now without four players with the addition of Rader, including three Bulls out for the season. In the contest against Cincinnati, five Bulls played 38 minutes or more while two other Bulls combined for eight minutes.
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) has missed action due to illness.
Harvey's Hot from the Charity Stripe
Sydni Harvey is hitting 89.3 percent of her shots from the free-throw line, a conference leading statistic.
Boards for the Bulls
Rebounding has been a weapon for the Bulls, who are out-performing opponents on the boards by 11.3 per game, good enough for seventh nationally. USF ranks fifth nationally in total rebounds this season and ninth nationally in rebounds per game.
The Opponent
Houston Cougars
Houston is coming off a 65-76 loss at Temple, a good mark for USF who defeated Temple in its conference opener. Houstin sits fourth in the AAC standings and has a 5-4 clip in conference play.
The Cougars are led by Jasmyne Hrris in scorig with 16.2 points per game and by Seritha Hawkins on the boards with 7.4 rebounds per game. Angela Harris is also scoring in double figures with 10.4 points per contest.
This will be the 19
thall-time meeting between the two programs and USF leads 13-6. The Bulls have won the last six meetings.
Notable
- USF pulled out a crucial win at Tulane on Wednesday night and completed its first season sweep of the year.
- All seven Bulls in action Wednesday night scored points. Only two of USF's seven players were on the floor for less than 20 minutes.
- Luize Septe posted seven points and seven rebounds while playing a full 40 minutes at Tulane. Tamara Henshaw and Enna Pehadzic both logged in 35 minutes while Sydni Harvey played 32 minutes.
- Rebounding is a key for USF, who is out-performing opponents on the boards by 11.4, a good enough margin for seventh nationally and conference-leading statistic.
- Sydni Harvey leads the conference in free-throw percentage with 87.3 percent efficiency.
Follow the Action
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 with Tiffany Greene and LaChina Robinson analyzing the action. Fans can follow the action with live radio on AM 1040 and on BullsUnlimited with
Darek Sharp and Brigid Merenda on the call. Live stats will be available on GoUSFBulls.com.
Up Next
USF will remain home to take on Tulsa on Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. in a second double header with men's basketball. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and tickets are available on GoUSFBullsTix.com
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 –
