DATE/TIME: Thursday, Jan. 7 / 7 p.m.
OPPONENT/EVENT: SMU
LOCATION: Sun Dome, Tampa, Fla.
WEBCAST: American Digital Network | TheAmerican.org/watch
RADIO: News Talk Florida 820-AM | GoUSFBulls.com
FOLLOW: Live Stats | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
TAMPA, JAN. 6, 2016 – The University of South Florida women's basketball team will play its third game in six days Thursday when it welcomes Southern Methodist for a 7 p.m. night cap. The Bulls are fresh off a 100-point performance Tuesday and are primed to make a run in the second week of conference play.
USF eclipsed the century mark for the second time this season and improved to 8-0 at home this season in a defeat of UCF, 108-63, on Tuesday evening. The Bulls went 36-of-43 from the free throw line and forced 18 turnovers in the win. Kitija Laksa (Riga, Latvia) led the way with a career-high 21 points, including four 3-pointers. Courtney Williams (Folkston, Ga.) provided a balanced effort with 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four blocks in 26 minutes of play while Laura Ferreira (Lisboa, Portugal) finished with 18 points, connecting on 11-of-12 attempts from the charity stripe.
The Bulls have only met to the Mustangs five times in program history, their first meeting in 2001. USF is 5-0 against SMU, and 4-0 since the Mustangs joined the American Athletic Conference.
Bulls Bites
· Laura Ferreira turned in a strong performance against UCF, and continued her streak of scoring at least one three-pointer in a game. The sophomore has gone 14-straight games with at least one three-pointer, a streak that dates back to March 23, 2015.
· The Bulls set a new program record, collecting 36 free throws on 43 attempts. USF ranks second in the country thanks to a season average of 78.3 percent. USF has shot more free throws than its opponents in all but four games this season. Alisia Jenkins leads the Bulls with an 87.9 free throw percentage.
· USF is led by Alisia Jenkins with 13.3 rebounds per game this season, and ranks fourth in Division I in her senior season. Jenkins is the current career rebounding record holder for the Bulls, and has collected 1,124 rebounds throughout her four years. The Georgia native is just the second Bull in program history to surpass the 1,000 career rebound mark.
· Courtney Williams has 1,810 career points, 748 rebounds and 266 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 19 statistical categories, and leads the league in rebounding. The Bulls average 44.7 rebounds per game, which ranks 17th 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. 18 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
· The top-ranked Huskies host Tulsa at 6 p.m. ET (SNY/ESPN3) at the XL Center in the only American game on Wednesday. UConn has one of the elite offenses in the NCAA; leading the country in field goal percentage (53.2), scoring margin (35.1) and scoring offense (89.5). Breanna Stewart has led the Huskies to an 11-0 start with 22.2 points per game while shooting 61.8-percent from the field, eight rebounds and 2.90 blocks. The Golden Hurricane enters the contest with an unblemished conference record (2-0) and is coming off a 56-54 win against SMU on Saturday. Ashley Clark leads Tulsa with 13 points per game and seven rebounds.
· Memphis downed Houston on Tuesday evening at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, 74-57. The Tigers defense limited the opposition to 29.8-percent shooting from the field and forced 28 turnovers. Ariel Hearn posted 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor. Brianna Wright registered 18 points while connecting on 7-of-10 field goal attempts, five rebounds and four blocks while Loysha Morris (11 points) and Cheyenne Creighton (10 point) reached double figures. Houston was led by Kierra Graves with 11 points and Marche' Amerson with 10 points.
· Gabrielle Wilkins made two free throws with five seconds remaining in regulation to lift SMU past Temple, 69-67, on Tuesday evening at Moody Coliseum. After trailing 27-15 at the conclusion of the first, the Mustangs outscored the Owls 54-40 in the remaining three quarters. Wilkins finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for her third career double-double. McKenzie Adams recorded 18 points while Stephanie Collins added 14 points and eight rebounds. Alliya Butts led Temple with 22 points and a career-high seven steals. Feyonda Fitzgerald became the 22nd player in program history to score 1,000 career points as the junior concluded the game with 11 points and eight assists.
· Tulane captured a road win against East Carolina on Tuesday evening, 66-51. The Green Wave defense held the Pirates to 24.1-percent shooting, including 1-of-12 from behind the arc, in the final two quarters en route to the victory. Kolby Morgan powered the Green Wave with 20 points, 18 of which came in the second half. Morgan also added a team-high seven rebounds in the win. Courtnie Latham scored 13 points and added four assists while Leslie Vorpahl recoded eight points and distributed a game-high seven assists. Khadidja Toure led East Carolina with a career-high 18 points while Jada Payne (12 points, 10 rebounds) and I'Tiana Taylor (12points, 12 rebounds) posted double-doubles.
SMU's Scout
· The Mustangs are 6-7 and 1-1 in the American Athletic Conference after beating Temple Tuesday, 69-67. SMU is led by sophomores McKenzie Adams and Alicia Froling, who are averaging 14.4 and 12.3 points per game, respectively. Adams has scored at least 10 points in 10 of the last 11 games and leads the Mustangs with 35 assists. Stephanie Collins is averaging 9.9 points per game and has 34 blocks to lead The American. SMU is third in the league in scoring defense, holding opponents to 61.4 points per game with a league-best 35.7 opponent field goal percentage. The Mustangs are scoring 65.2 points per game.
· After drawing a foul with five seconds remaining in the game, Gabrielle Wilkins sank two free throws to lift the SMU women's basketball team to a 69-67 comeback victory against Temple Tuesday night. Wilkins scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds en route to her third career double-double and first of the season, going 5-for-5 from the free throw line, leading the Mustangs to the win.
· The Mustangs out-scored Temple in the final three quarters, 54-40, to claim a last second come-from behind victory in Moody Coliseum, playing in front of the home crowd for the first time since Dec. 5. SMU improved to 6-7 overall and 1-1 in the American Athletic Conference, and is now 2-1 all-time at home against the Owls (8-5, 2-1 The American).
Up Next
USF caps off its' grueling stretch of four games in nine days Jan. 10 in Tampa. The Bulls end a three-game home stand Sunday and host reigning national champion UConn. 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 –
