USF Athletics Roundup: Thanksgiving Week Edition

While you recover from the South Florida Bulls fourth straight defeat at Temple on Saturday and prepare for the annual War on I-4 rivalry showdown at Raymond James Stadium on Friday, check out what else you missed during a busy week in USF Athletics.

No. 17 Women’s Basketball (4-0)

Following the devastating news that Latvian star Kitija Laksa was lost for the season with a torn ACL and meniscus suffered in a 88-39 beat down of Bethune-Cookman on Thursday, the Bulls didn’t miss a beat in trouncing Oklahoma 87-70 on Sunday afternoon at the Yuengling Center.

A career-high 34 points from senior Laura Ferreira and a double-double from Alyssa Rader helped pace the Bulls to a 4-0 start for a third consecutive season.

Talented freshman Beatirz Jordao (13 points) and Sydni Harvey (16 points) both finished in double figures as the Bulls shot 50% from the floor, their highest percentage of the season.

USF travels to St. Thomas for the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam over the holiday weekend, facing a tough Power-Five slate with three games in as many days. The Bulls face Kentucky on Thursday at 1 p.m., North Carolina on Friday at 3 p.m. and UCLA on Saturday at 1 p.m. All games can be heard locally on 1040AM.

Men’s Basketball (3-1)

After a thrilling 74-70 overtime win over Austin Peay, the Bulls traveled to Montego Bay for the Jersey Mike’s Jamaica Classic over the weekend, splitting two games against Ohio and Georgetown.

On Friday, four Bulls reached double figures, led by TJ Lang, Justin Brown, and Alexis Yetna’s 11 points each. Freshman center Michael Durr added ten points of his own and USF crushed Ohio 73-46 in a revenge game (see 2012 NCAA Tournament).

Sunday afternoon, the Bulls three-game winning streak was snapped in heartbreaking fashion with a 76-73 overtime loss to Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown.

Sophomore David Collins scored 21 points and made a career-high four three-pointers, but a late Hoyas three-ball sent the game to overtime where the Bulls couldn’t recover.

USF returns home to the Yuengling Center on Wednesday night to host Florida A&M at 7 p.m. and The Citadel on Sunday at 2 p.m.

No. 20 Women’s Soccer

Despite taking a 1-0 first half lead over FSU in Tallahassee on Friday night, the Bulls season came to an end with a 3-1 defeat to the top-seeded Seminoles in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Junior striker Evelyne Viens set USF’s single-season record with 20 goals and is now the program leader with 48 goals.

“I’m really proud of the style of play that we perform with, the way that we play soccer and I love the growth of the program. I would be remised not to say that I take away the heart of the seniors this year,” head coach Denise Schilte-Brown told GoUSFBulls.com “They made the journey so enjoyable. It’s an unforgettable season for us. Being cut short stinks, but the memories, they’re forever.”

Volleyball (20-10, 9-8 AAC)

With a straight set victory over Houston on Friday night (25-21, 25-19, 25-17), the Bulls reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2002 and 20th time overall.

Three Bulls had at least five blocks on Friday, including sophomore Jaeden Brown with a match-high six helping head coach Courtney Draper secure the 20-win mark for the first time in her seven seasons at the helm.

On Sunday, USF couldn’t use a Brown double-double to defeat SMU and fell 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 20-25, 24-26).

Football isn’t the only squad with a War on I-4 match-up this week, as USF will travel next to face regular season champions C. in Orlando on Wednesday night in the season finale.

Notables:

• Men’s golf added Thailand national team member Runchanapong Youprayong and rising Florida junior player Sam Nicholson during the early signing period last week.
• Softball completed its fall exhibition slate with home games against Manatee State College and Eastern Florida State College