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For a second straight season, the No. 22 USF women’s basketball team wiped the floor with Big Ten foe Ohio State 71-47 on Tuesday night at Schottenstein Center in Columbus to begin the 2018-19 slate.
FINAL: USF 71, OSU 47
— USF W. Basketball (@USFWBB) November 7, 2018
Bulls off to an amazing start with three scorers in double figures and Beatriz Jordao with a double-double! #STFT pic.twitter.com/dMPqds4B2j
Big time opening night statement from @USFWBB as the Bulls give us our first #AmericanHoops road victory of the year! https://t.co/0tPBIHp1ay
— American WBB (@American_WBB) November 7, 2018
Making her green and gold debut, freshman Beatriz Jordao recorded a double-double, finishing tied for a team-high 17 points and hauling in 10 rebounds.
The Bulls shot just 37% (21-of-57) from the floor and 23% (5-of-22) from behind the arc, led 37-19 at halftime thanks to 14 free throws and fantastic defense, holding OSU to under 30% shooting the first half.
Senior sharpshooter Kitija Laksa returned to her normal ways, tallying 17 points, knocking down 2-of-6 from three and grabbing five rebounds.
Freshman Sydni Harvey finished an impressive 4-of-10 from the floor for 16 points and brought down a rebound in her collegiate debut.
After allowing a Buckeye layup in the first minute, the Bulls never trailed again and put together lengthy scoring runs including a 13-3 run in the second quarter to widen the gap.
USF will return home to the Yuengling Center on Friday night at 7 p.m. to take on Albany.