By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, OCT. 22, 2015 – There's already a big buzz about USF women's basketball heading into arguably the most anticipated season for the program.
News cameras and reporters surrounded the Bulls during the team's media day at the Muma Center on Thursday afternoon and there was plenty to talk about.
After a second-round NCAA tournament appearance, USF was ranked as highly as No. 15 in the Sporting News preseason top 20, which is a new milestone for the program. The Bulls also were ranked in the top 25 of preseason polls by ESPN (No. 21), Lindy's Sports (No. 22) and Athlon (No. 23).
“It's great that people are talking about USF basketball in the national spotlight,” head coach Jose Fernandez said. “But with that comes a lot of expectations and this team should have high expectations.”
“I feel like we need to be higher than we are right now, that's our goal,” senior guard Courtney Williams added. “We're trying to be better than we are, than we were last year.”
USF raised the bar of expectations with a historic 2014-15 campaign. The Bulls hosted two rounds of the NCAA tournament for the first time and tied the single-season program record with 27 wins. USF nearly knocked off third-seeded Louisville in the second round with more than 5,000 fans rocking the Sun Dome from start to finish.
“It was great for our fans and the community to come out and support this team the way they did,” Fernandez said. “It was an incredible atmosphere for those two rounds.”
Now USF is looking to climb to new heights after nearly reaching its first-ever Sweet 16.
“I think we're going to be really good this year,” Williams said. “I don't see why we shouldn't get farther than we did last year.”
Bulls Have Plenty of Talent, Experience
Part of the reason why the Bulls have lofty expectations this season is because of what they have coming back.
USF returns all five starters and 12 letterwomen from last season's team that made the program's second NCAA tournament appearance in three years. Leading the way are Sporting News Preseason All-Americans Courtney Williams and Alisia Jenkins.
Williams, a senior guard, led The American with 20.3 points per game as a junior and set a new USF single-season scoring record with 710 points, good for ninth-best in the nation.
Jenkins, a senior forward, averaged a double-double last season with 12.8 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Jenkins led The American in rebounding and ranked fifth nationally with 23 double-doubles.
USF returns 83 percent of its scoring from last season and added a five-star recruit to the mix. Kitija Laksa, a 6-foot forward, is gearing up for her freshman season after playing for the Latvian Senior National Team.
Laksa adds more international flavor to a USF squad that features seven players from overseas – Laura Ferreira (Portugal), Laia Flores (Spain), Maria Jespersen (Denmark), Laura Marcos Canedo (Spain), Ariadna Pujol (Spain) and Nancy Warioba (Kenya).
“I think (Kitija) wanted to come and be challenged, and play at the highest level here in the U.S.,” Fernandez said. “I think us having the type of international kids in our program that have been successful already on our team, I think that was something that was attractive to her.”
Tough Schedule
USF will be playing its toughest schedule yet and there is no shortage of big names on the slate.
The Bulls will face five NCAA tournament teams from last season, including defending national champ UConn twice, Chattanooga, Oklahoma State, Mississippi State and Louisville. USF starts the season with a Preseason WNIT test against Jacksonville at home on Friday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m.
“I think the type of schedule we're playing is one of the strongest schedules in the country and we should be,” Fernandez said.
Check out the entire season schedule HERE and reserve your seats for the 2015-16 home slate at USFBullsTix.com.
About USF Women's Basketball
Season tickets, starting at just $65, are available for purchase online at USFBullsTix.com, by phone at 1-800-GoBulls or in person at the Gate B ticket office of the Sun Dome, with single game tickets going on sale in late September.
USF has made 11 postseason tournament appearances and had three NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez's 15 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to six 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 260 games.
