DATE/TIME: Saturday, Jan. 2 / 1:00 p.m.
OPPONENT/EVENT: East Carolina
LOCATION: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, Greenville, N.C.
RADIO: News Talk Florida 1040-AM | GoUSFBulls.com
TV: CBS Sports Network
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TAMPA, JAN. 1, 2016 – In their first outing of 2016, the Bulls will travel to Greenville, N.C. for their first American Athletic Conference match-up of the season. No. 20/17 USF will face East Carolina in its league opener for the second consecutive season. The pair will meet-up for just tenth time in program history at Williams Arena.
USF (7-3, 0-0 AAC) looks to bounce back after Wednesday's loss to No. 8 Mississippi State, 68-58, in the opening game of the American/SEC Challenge at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bulls held the Bulldogs scoreless for nearly eight minutes in the final 15 minutes of play, however were unable to overcome the 12-point halftime deficit. Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) led the offense with 19 points and added five rebounds. Alisia Jenkins (Statesboro, Ga.) registered her fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while Courtney Williams (Folkston, Ga.) produced 12 points and six rebounds.
USF is searching for their first road victory of 2015-16 and will look to Williams to lead the Bulls once again. The senior has led the team in points eight times this season and has produced four double-doubles. Williams ranks fourth in Division I with 23.1 points per game this season. Jenkins has caught fire offensively, and averaged 15.8 points and 14.4 rebounds per game in her past five outings.
Bulls Bites
· The Bulls are 1-1 in The American Conference openers. During the Fernandez era, the Bulls are 5-10 in conference openers. In the past 16 seasons, the Bulls have played in the Conference USA (2000-2005), the Big East (2005-2013) and the American Athletic (2013-present).
· Williams has 1,772 career points, 733 rebounds and 258 assists and looks to become just the second player in program history to surpass the 2,000-point mark. Williams is chasing the USF Career Points leader Jessica Dickson ('07) who ended her four years with 2,402 points. Williams is on pace to become the first USF player to ever post 2,000 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists.
· USF ranks in the Top-5 in The American in 18 statistical categories, and leads the league in rebounding and defensive rebounds. The Bulls average 44.3 rebounds per game, which ranks 35th nationally.
· USF has limited itself to just 135 turnovers in ten games (13.5 per game), which is the sixth fewest turnovers in Division I.
· The Bulls are ranked No. 20 in the Associated Press (AP) Top-25 Poll released Monday and No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches Poll released Tuesday. USF has been ranked as highly as No. 18 (AP Poll) and No. 17 (USA Today Coaches Poll) this season; both are the highest rankings in program history.
Around the American
· No games are scheduled on Thursday and Friday. American Athletic Conference action resumes on Saturday, January 2 with four conference games. No. 20/17 USF, UCF and SMU all begin conference play to start the New Year. The Bulls travel to East Carolina at 1 p.m. ET (CBSSN). The Knights play host to Cincinnati at 2 p.m. ET. The Mustangs travel to Tulsa at 3 p.m. ET (ADN). Temple travels to Houston at 3 p.m. ET to round out the slate of games.
· The top-ranked Huskies extended their winnings streak to 48 games with a 107-45 win against Cincinnati on Wednesday evening. In both team's conference opener, UConn dominated the glass (51-25) and controlled the paint (42-10). Breanna Stewart improved to third place on the school's all-time scoring list as the senior led eight players in double figures with 16 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists in 22 minutes of play. Moriah Jefferson recorded 10 points and eight assists while Natalie Butler produced 11 points and eight rebounds in her season debut. Ana Owens led the Bearcats with 10 points while Alyesha Lovett added six points and eight rebounds.
· NR/RV Tulane won its seventh consecutive game and improved to 8-0 at home on the year as the Green Wave began league play with a win against Houston, 70-48, on Wednesday evening. Leslie Vorpahl powered the offense with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including a career-high five 3-pointers. Vorpahl also distributed seven assists in the win. Tierra Jones registered her second consecutive double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds while Kolby Morgan chipped in 12 points. Marche' Amerson paced the Cougars with 11 points and a team-best seven rebounds. Chyanne Butler posted a career-high eight points to go with four rebounds and two steals.
· Temple opened conference play with an 82-58 victory against Memphis on Wednesday at McGonigle Hall. The Owls shot 53.1-percent from the field and finished with four players in double figures. Alliya Butts led the way with 21 points, four assists and four steals. Tanaya Atkinson recorded 18 points and five rebounds while Donnaizha Fountain produced a career-high 16 points. Mooriah Rowser posted a season-high 21 points to lead the Tigers while Brianna Wright scored 10 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
· Te'era Williams converted a pair of free throws with 17 seconds remaining in overtime to lift Tulsa to an 81-79 win against East Carolina in both team's league openers on Wednesday evening. Erika Wakefield scored a career-high 24 points and went 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Ashley Clark produced 20 points and seven rebounds while Kelsee Grovey chipped in 10 points. Jada Payne led the Pirates with a season-high 31 points while I'Tiana Taylor recorded her six double-double of the season with 14 points and as many rebounds.
· UCF dropped a 93-79 contest to RV/RV Florida in the late game of the American/SEC Challenge on Wednesday. Zykira Lewis moved up to tenth in the program's list of all-time career scorers after pouring in a season and game-high 28 points against the Gators. Joslyn Massey recorded her third double-double of the season with a career-high 20 points and game-high 10 rebounds.
East Carolina's Scout
· The Pirates (6-7, 0-1 AAC) already have one league game under their belts, an overtime loss in Tulsa Dec. 30. East Carolina fell 81-79 at the Reynolds Center. Jada Payne made a career-high 13 field goals for a season-high 31 points, while I'Tiana Taylor produced her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and as many rebounds. DeVaughn Gray added 13 points, while Gabrielle Holston chipped in a career-high 10 points and four rebounds off the bench. Alex Frazier handed out a personal-best and game-high four assists on the night.
· ECU was predicted to finish fourth in The American Preseason Poll, and landed two players on the Preseason All-Conference second team. Seniors Jada Payne and I'Tiana Taylor landed on the preseason team, Payne was a 2014-15 first team honoree while Taylor was The American Newcomer of the Year and a second team selection.
· The Pirates return to Greenville after 42 days on the road. ECU's last game within its friendly confines was Nov. 20 against Presbyterian.
· ECU averages 72.2 points, 41.3 rebounds, 12.6 assists, 8.8 steals and 2.6 blocks per game.
Up Next
USF continues it's grueling stretch of four games in nine days Jan. 5 in Tampa against I-4 rival University of Central Florida. The Bulls welcome the Knights to the Sun Dome for a 7 p.m. tip-off Tuesday, and look to remain undefeated at home. The Bulls kick-off a three-game home stand, and host SMU Thursday, Jan. 7 and reigning national champion UConn Sunday, Jan. 10. Tickets are available at USFBullsTix.com.
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 –
