USF Women’s Basketball Closes Five-Game Road Trip At Oklahoma

After a week-long hiatus for finals, the USF women’s basketball team returns to action this afternoon to face Oklahoma. The Bulls are playing their fifth consecutive road game with the Sun Dome hosting graduation this weekend.

This is the first-ever trip for USF to Norman and just the second meeting between the Bulls and Sooners. The Bulls grabbed an 83-68 win over the Sooners in 2014 at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Oklahoma began the season ranked in the Top 25 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls and it looked to be a sure RPI-enhancing opportunity for the Bulls.

Instead, the Sooners (3-5) have dropped four straight to the likes of South Dakota State, Florida and #10 Oregon to fall out of the rankings.

The 16th-ranked Bulls (7-1) will look to continue their hot start offensively. USF is led by junior guard Kitija Laksa, who is second in the country with 35 three-pointers this season. Laksa has made at least two three-pointers in her last 16 outings and has gone 23 straight games with at least one trey.

USF’s 77.4 point per game average is also among the best in the nation.

Senior forward Maria Jespersen could reach a milestone on Saturday afternoon — she is just 15 points away from 1,000 career points at USF. Jespersen, coming off her fourth double-double of the season in the Bulls win at George Washington, is averaging 7.4 points and 10.0 rebounds per game.

Senior point guard Laia Flores leads the American Athletic Conference in assist-turnover ratio (4.82), assists (53) and assists per game (6.6). Flores ranks in the top 25 nationally for the same categories.

After today’s game, USF will return to the Sun Dome for the first time since November 20 to begin a stretch of four games in seven days before the holidays.