TAMPA, DEC. 3, 2015 – No. 24/23 USF re-emerged Thursday night as one of the nations top-contenders in an 86-59 win over visiting Harvard. The Bulls outrebounded, outscored and outhustled the Crimson, leading in every statistical category at the Sun Dome. The Bulls remain undefeated in Tampa, with one of their best performances this season.
“I was really proud of how our guys assaulted the glass,” said head coach Jose Fernandez. “That was a big positive for us. The rebounds on the offensive end were key. As a team, we shared the ball; we made extra passes and went side to side more tonight than we have this season.”
Thursday night's game mirrored the end of the 2014-15 season, as the Bulls offense saw three different scorers in double figures led by Alisia Jenkins (Statesboro, Ga.) with a career-high 27 points and 20 rebounds. Thursday marked Jenkins second 20/20 performance; the previous was also a career night against Penn State in December 2014. Jenkins shot 69 percent from the floor (9-for-13) and went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe. The Bulls had their best night from the free throw line, shooting 91 percent (20-for-22). Jenkins raised her career rebounds tally to 1,054, and is now 23 rebounds shy of Wanda Guyton's program record of 1,077 career rebounds.
Sophomore Maria Jespersen (Arus, Denmark) had a breakout performance, just shy of her second career double-double. Jespersen scored a career-high 19 points, and nine rebounds. Courtney Williams (Folkston, Ga.) added 18 points and 12 rebounds, for her third double-double this season.
“Jespersen had a great night, and it started with the rebounds. She ran the floor and got to the rim. That's a pretty good stat line to have 19 points and nine rebounds. Then to have Jenkins with 27 and 20, Courtney has 18 and 12. Those are three pretty good stat lines from a production standpoint and a rebounding standpoint.”
Harvard was led by AnnMarie Healy with 13 points and four rebounds. Healy went 6-for-6 from the floor but 0-for-5 from behind the arc. Four different players turned in seven rebounds.
The Bulls started slow, and trailed for the entire first quarter, but once they took a 23-22 lead early in the second period, they never looked back. USF's defense arrived at the start of the second quarter and held the Crimson to just one three-pointer in the final three quarters after dropping four in the first.
“In the first quarter, Harvard shot the ball really well,” Fernandez said. “As the game went on, we got a lot better defensively and that was our big concern. In the first quarter, Harvard shot the ball and put up big numbers, especially from behind the three-point line, and we told our guys, we have to crowd them and force them to put it on the ground. That seems to be the M.O. of everyone we've played this year. They've had great numbers coming out.”
USF opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run, all six points coming from Jenkins. The senior ended the second quarter with 12 points, 10 rebounds. The Bulls held the Crimson scoreless for just under five minutes and stretched their lead to 40-30 at halftime. It was the first halftime lead the Bulls have held since hosting Drexel on Nov. 11.
A refreshed USF team returned to the court after the break, and smothered Harvard in transition. The Bulls went coast to coast in several possessions of the third quarter and outscored Harvard 27-17. USF is outscoring opponents in the third quarter by a margin of +5.3 in the past three games.
The fourth quarter had more than the crowd cheering, as a relaxed USF team scored 19 points, led by Jespersen with six points and Williams with five.
“I thought they really enjoyed playing together tonight,” Fernandez said. “I think the last two days in practice and shoot around, they have really held themselves accountable.”
“Our team has become close in the past few days,” said Jenkins. “In practice we are cheering each other on and we've really been loving each other. We love each other as a family and that's been the difference.”
USF hosts Penn State Sunday at 3 p.m., and the game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network. The Bulls defeated Penn State last season in State College, Pa.
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 –
