USF Women’s Basketball Suffers Shocking 64-56 Loss At Wichita State

The USF Bulls women’s basketball team dropped a tough 64-56 decision to the Wichita State Shockers on Sunday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena, snapping a three-game winning streak.

The Bulls (15-5, 5-2 AAC) led for more than 25 minutes in the game, including 31-26 at halftime, before allowing the Shockers to close the game on a 16-2 run and secure the upset win.

USF was 2-for-18 from the field in the final quarter, while Wichita State (9-12, 4-3 AAC) outscored the Bulls 20-4 in the final period to win their fourth straight. The Bulls four points in the fourth quarter is a season low for scoring in a quarter.

Senior forward Maria Jespersen finished off her second straight double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. It was her 10th double-double of the season and the 22nd of her career. Jespersen moved up to eighth place on USF’s career rebounds list with 748 total.

The Bulls led 52-44 at the end of the third quarter but did not score for nearly seven minutes in the fourth. An Alyssa Rader layup with 57 seconds left in the game ended the scoring drought but the Bulls went 1-for-12 shooting from the field down the stretch.

Junior guard Kitija Laksa tied for a team-high with 16 points but continued her massive struggles from behind the arc, going 0-for-8 from three-point range in 34 minutes. As a team, the Bulls shot an absymal 13 percent (3-of-22) from three-point range for the game and 31 percent from the floor.

The Bulls were outrebounded 49-39 and allowed 20 (!!) offensive rebounds, which led to 18 second-chance points for the Shockers.

USF, slipping in rankings and chances of hosting an opening round in the tournament, will look to regroup for Temple at the Sun Dome on Sunday, January 28 at noon.