TAMPA, NOV. 16, 2015 – The USF women's basketball team moved up one spot after a 2-0 weekend, coming in at No. 19 in the Associated Press Top-25 poll released Monday. The Bulls moved ahead of Northwestern, which opened the season 1-0.
Little changed from the preseason AP poll, but fellow American Conference member UConn is no longer the unanimous No. 1. South Carolina opened the season 2-0 and received one first place vote in the No. 2 slot. Notre Dame, Tennessee and Baylor held steady to round out the Top-5.
The Bulls opened the season 2-0 and outscored opponents by a margin of 12.5 points. USF defeated Jacksonville 74-52 Friday and Drexel 73-58 Sunday in the first and second rounds of the preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Bulls cleaned up the glass, out-rebounding opponents by a margin of 14.5. USF's offense averaged 73.5 points per game, and a shooting percentage of .459.
The No. 19 ranking marks the highest ranking in USF women's basketball history. The Bulls started the season ranked No. 20 in the preseason A.P. poll.
| 2015-16 AP Top-25 Poll |
| Week |
Rank |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1 |
19 |
2-0 |
225 |
20 |
| Preseason |
20 |
0-0 |
202 |
-- |
Jose Fernandez's 2015 women's basketball team returns all five starters, including All-American Candidate Courtney Williams, from a team that posted a 27-8 (15-3 American) record in 2014-15 and finished the season in the top 25 rankings. The squad finished second behind eventual NCAA champion UConn in the American Athletic Conference and made an exciting NCAA Tournament run that saw USF top LSU in front of 5,560 fans in the Sun Dome in the NCAA regional round.
In 2015-16, the Bulls will be hosting their toughest schedule yet, including the opening rounds of the Preseason WNIT, along with perennial powers Penn State, Chattanooga, Oklahoma State and UConn making trips to Tampa. 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.
– #GoBulls –
