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USF women bounce back, beat Villanova
USF women's basketball ended a four-game losing streak and helped its chances of playing in the postseason with a 54-39 win against Villanova, sparked by 22 points from junior guard Andrell Smith.
The Bulls, now 13-13 and 5-7 in the Big East, had strong perimeter defense against the Big East's most prolific 3-point shooting team, holding the Wildcats to 5-for-25 shooting beyond the arc. USF also outrebounded Villanova 42-34, led by Tiffany Conner's 10 boards, and guards Sasha Bernard and Kaneisha Saunders stepped up with six and five assists, respectively.
USF has just four games left in the regular season, and Tuesday's game at Marquette (4-6 in Big East) is a pivotal one as the Bulls try to finish the regular season at .500 or better. The next two are almost assuredly a split, with Pitt (0-11) at home and Notre Dame (11-0) on the road, and then the Bulls finish the regular season at home against Providence (5-7). If USF were to go 3-1 in its last four, the Bulls would be assured of a winning record, even if they lost in the opening round of the Big East tournament.
USF women lose by 15 at No. 3 UConn
For a half, USF's women's basketball team stayed toe-to-toe with No. 3 Connecticut, trailing by one early in the second half, but the Huskies pulled away to a 77-62 win in Hartford.
The Bulls (12-10, 4-4 in Big East) got 20 points (including 4 3-pointers) from forward Caitlin Rowe, and another 5 threes from guard Inga Orekhova. UConn (19-2, 8-1) has won all 11 meetings in the series.
USF returns home to face West Virginia in the USF Rec Center on Wednesday night.
USF women fall to No. 7 Rutgers, 72-66
USF's women's basketball team played close with No. 7 Rutgers on Saturday night, but the Scarlet Knights pulled out a 72-66 win before a season-high 1,022 fans at the USF Rec Center.
The Bulls (11-9, 3-3 in Big East) got 15 points from guard Inga Orekhova, as well as 11 points, eight rebounds and four steals from forward Tiffany Conner. Rutgers (16-3, 5-1) got 23 points from forward April Sykes, and held on at the end after USF cut a double-digit lead to as little as five points midway through the second half.
"I was proud of how our kids fought," coach Jose Fernandez said. "But I told our kids, at the end of the year, your record, there's not an asterisk saying 'They played Georgetown tough, they played Louisville tough, they should have won against the No. 7 team in the country. It comes down to wins and losses. We did a good job the other night against No. 21 DePaul closing that game out. We've got to start closing out some of these top-25 teams."
USF women's hoops knocks off No. 21 DePaul in OT
USF women's basketball continues to play its best basketball in the campus Rec Center, where tonight the Bulls knocked off No. 21 DePaul 66-63 to improve to 3-2 in Big East play.
The Bulls (11-8, 3-2) had a chance to win in regulation, but guard Inga Orekhova missed a free throw with 1.1 seconds left, sending the game into overtime. Orekhova had USF's first points in overtime, and the final points came from guard Jasmine Wynne, who had a team-high 16 points.
USF's last three wins against ranked opponents have come against DePaul, including one last season and in 2008. Of Jose Fernandez's eight wins at USF against ranked opponents, four have come against the Blue Demons.
USF has another big home game Saturday as the Bulls play host to Rutgers.
Orekhova scores 18 but Bulls fall to No. 15 Hoyas
TAMPA -- USF gave No. 15 Georgetown a scare, trailing by one point with 3:30 to play, but the Hoyas scored the next nine points and pulled out a 66-56 victory over the Bulls before a crowd of 743 at the USF Rec Center.
Junior guard Inga Orekhova, making her Bulls debut, scored a game-high 18 points on six 3-pointers, while guard Jasmine Wynne had 17 points. Georgetown star Sugar Rodgers hit just one of her first 14 shots, finishing with 12 points on 4-of-19 shooting.
"You go into the locker room and you shoot 26 percent and have 13 turnovers, you're taking away a kid that's one of the best in the country," coach Jose Fernandez said. "She's All-Big East for a reason ... but we didn't get the dividends on the offensive end." ... Read more
It's official: Andrea Smith to redshirt season
USF women's basketball coach Jose Fernandez confirmed Friday night what has been a consideration since late November: senior guard Andrea Smith, recovering from ACL surgery on her knee at the end of last season, will redshirt the 2011-12 season and play for the Bulls next year.
Fernandez said Smith didn't make the decision until over the holiday break -- while she could return for the end of the season, redshirting allows her to make a full recovery and finish her college career with twin sister Andrell Smith, who went through the same injury in junior college and will be a Bulls senior in 2012-13 as well.
Smith led the Bulls with 16.5 points per game in 2010-11 and ranked third in the Big East, earning second-team all-conference honors. USF had been optimistic about her making a healthy return this season, but the redshirt allows her more time to recover and play a full season. Without Smith, and with junior college standout Inga Orekhova serving a 15-game suspension, USF has a 9-6 record, including disappointing losses to schools like Idaho State and Dayton. ... Read more
USF women's hoops gets promising road win
USF's women's basketball team hadn't shown much in the nonconference schedule to suggest the Bulls were much improved from a year ago, but Tuesday's Big East opener was a promising start with a 58-55 win at Cincinnati.
The Bulls (9-6, 1-0) got 16 points from guard Jasmine Wynne and another 13 from Kaneisha Saunders -- USF went 1-7 on the road in the Big East last season, so Tuesday's win is a sign the Bulls may have gained enough experience to better handle the challenges of conference road games. The Bulls have a big challenge in their home Big East opener, with No. 15 Georgetown coming to the USF Rec Center on Saturday night. The Hoyas (12-3) lost at home to No. 18 DePaul in their Big East opener.
USF trailed by seven early in the second half but used an 11-0 run, including four points from freshman guard Shalethia Stringfield, to take control of the game. The Bulls held Cincinnati to four points in a span of 13 minutes in pulling out to a double-digit lead.
USF women's hoops may play on campus, not UT
After planning to play USF's women's basketball Big East home games downtown at the University of Tampa, the Bulls are finalizing a move to stay on campus and play the rest of the home schedule at the USF Rec Center.
The Bulls (7-5) have played their nonconference games there, literally in walking distance of USF's new Muma Center practice facility, making it a far easier logistical home than a bus ride downtown to UT's Martinez Center, where the men's team has played three home games. Staying on campus would also save the Bulls financially in not having to pay the rent on the home games off campus.
Both USF basketball teams are without a natural home this season because the Sun Dome is undergoing a $35 million renovation, which should be completed by spring commencement ceremonies in May. USF's four games at the Rec Center have all been wins, with an average announced attendance of 524 fans. The first of eight Big East home games for the Bulls is Jan. 7 against Georgetown.
USF executive associate athletic director Bill McGillis said Monday morning that a formal announcement was expected later in the day.
USF men, women both fall at Auburn
Wednesday night was a good measuring stick for USF's basketball programs, with the men and women playing a doubleheader at Auburn against teams the Bulls were able to beat in Tampa last season. Both Bulls squads fell short, however, with the men shooting poorly in a 52-40 loss after the women fell 62-45 at Auburn Arena. Both teams are now 6-5 on the season with Big East play two weeks off.
USF's men got 10 first-half points from Augustus Gilchrist, but he didn't score in the second half, and the Bulls struggled offensively, shooting 33 percent from the field, 22 percent from 3-point range and just 8-for-16 at the line. Freshman point guard Anthony Collins had just two assists against five turnovers for the Bulls, who return home to face Cleveland State on Monday night. ... Read more
USF women rally from 13 down, beat Air Force
USF's women's basketball team, down 13 points to Air Force with 15 minutes to play, rallied back for a 73-70 win in Colorado Springs to improve to 6-4 on the season.
The Bulls forced 36 turnovers from the Falcons and were led by Jasmine Wynne's 18 points. The Bulls hit free throws to extend their lead to six before Air Force hit a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds remaining.
USF now has a full 10 days off before returning at Auburn on Dec. 14.
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