DATE/TIME: Tuesday, Jan. 5 / 7 p.m.
OPPONENT/EVENT: UCF
LOCATION: Sun Dome, Tampa, Fla.
WEBCAST: USF Bullscast | GoUSFBulls.com
RADIO: News Talk Florida 820-AM | GoUSFBulls.com
FOLLOW: Live Stats | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
TAMPA, JAN. 4, 2016 – It's been 36 years since the Bulls have lost to the University of Central Florida, and Tuesday No. 22/17 University of South Florida will look to make it 18-straight victories against the Knights. USF welcomes UCF to the Sun Dome in its second American Athletic League match-up of the season Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip.
USF (8-3, 1-0 AAC) returns to Tampa after a thriller in Greenville, N.C. Saturday. The Bulls escaped East Carolina in the final second of their conference opener. Senior Courtney Williams (Folkston, Ga.) knocked down a jumper near the free throw line with a second to go to help USF secure its first road win of the season.
Williams put together a solid, all-around performance with a game-high 20 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists. Fellow senior Alisia Jenkins (Statesboro, Ga.) posted her sixth double-double of the season 14 points and 14 rebounds to help USF finish with a 40-37 edge on the boards. Jenkins has turned in two-straight double-doubles and is averaging 13.2 points and 13.2 rebounds in the Bulls past five outings.
Bulls Bites
· USF is led by Alisia Jenkins with 14.1 rebounds per game this season, and ranks third in Division I in her senior season. Jenkins is the current career rebounding record holder for the Bulls, and has collected 1,120 rebounds throughout her four years. The Georgia native is just the second Bull in program history to surpass the 1,000 career rebound mark.
· Williams has 1,792 career points, 740 rebounds and 261 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 falls second the league in rebounding. The Bulls average 43.9 rebounds per game, which ranks 34th nationally.
· USF has limited itself to just 135 turnovers in ten games (13.5 per game), which is the eighth fewest turnovers in Division I.
· The Bulls are ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press (AP) Top-25 Poll released Monday and No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches Poll released last 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
· In the latest AP poll, UConn remained at the No. 1 spot and USF moved to No. 22.
· There are no games scheduled for Monday. Play continues on Tuesday with four American Athletic Conference games scheduled. Houston will travel to Memphis at 6 p.m. ET. UCF visits No. 22/17 USF at 7 p.m. ET. East Carolina hosts NR/RV Tulane at 7 p.m. ET (ADN). Temple will travel to SMU at 8 p.m. ET.
· Six Tigers reached double-figures in an 83-67 win against NR/RV Tulane at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse on Sunday. Mooriah Rowser led the way with a game-high 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Asianna Fuqua-Bey and Brianna Wright each scored 13 points while Loysha Morris added 12 points. Memphis shot 50.8-percent from the floor and forced 17 turnovers. Kolby Morgan led the Green Wave with 15 points while Chinwe Duru and Courtnie Latham recorded 12 points apiece.
UCF's Scout
· The Knights (3-9, 0-1 The American) look to reverse an eight game losing streak, its last loss came at the hands of Cincinnati Jan. 16. UCF dropped a 68-50 decision but were led by Zykira Lewis posted 12 points and freshman Ashley Polacek added 10 points.
· The Knights are coming off their best single-game rebounding performance (62) since November 2011. The Knights currently rank among the top 25 in the country for both offensive rebounds (17.0) and rebounds (44.7) per game.
· UCF head coach Joi Williams was a four-year starting point guard at USF from 1984-88 and earned a bachelor's degree in marketing in 1988. She stood among USF's career assist leaders (180) until the 2013-14 season.
Up Next
USF continues it's grueling stretch of four games in nine days Jan. 7 in Tampa. The Bulls welcome SMU to the Sun Dome for a 7 p.m. tip-off Thursday, and look to remain undefeated at home. The Bulls end a three-game home stand, Sunday and host reigning national champion UConn, 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 –
