Bulls' Season Ends in Second Round of WNIT

RECAP: USF fell one victory short of its seventh straight 20-win season after a 71-54 setback at James Madison on Sunday.

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

HARRISONBURG, Va., MARCH 24, 2019– USF’s impressive season of overcoming adversity ended in the second round of the WNIT with a 71-54 loss at James Madison on Sunday.

USF (19-16) fell one victory short of posting the program’s seventh straight 20-win season. JMU (27-5) used an 18-1 run to grab a 16-point halftime advantage and extended its home winning streak to 29 straight games at the Convocation Center.

Sophomore center ShaeLeverett(Rincon, Ga.) scored a team-high 14 points and tied for the game high with nine rebounds on a productive night for USF’s interior players.

Junior post Tamara Henshaw(Palm Coast, Fla.) powered USF early with eight points in the first quarter the Bulls led and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Junior post Alyssa Rader(Thornton, Colo.) totaled seven points and eight rebounds to help the Bulls grab a 40-37 edge on the glass in true South Florida fashion this season.

Freshman guard SydniHarvey (Nashville, Tenn.) added nine points and four rebounds in the final game of USF’s eighth straight postseason appearance, closing her spectacular freshman season.

USF opened the game with 14 points in the paint on the way to building an 18-17 lead by the end of the first quarter. Henshawstarted 4-for-6 from the field and scored eight points while Leverettwas up to six points.

Jackie Benitez sank three straight three-pointers and scored 12 points during an 18-1 run that gave JMU a 42-26 halftime lead.

Trailing by as many as 17 in the third quarter, no-quit USF closed the period with a 6-0 run to get within seven of the Dukes. JMU went scoreless for the final 5:29 of the quarter and went 3-for-12 from the field.

JMU opened the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run before USF’s 15thoverall postseason appearance came to an end.

Quotable
Head coach Jose Fernandez’s thoughts on the Bulls’ final game of the season:
“I thought our interior play was good. We got everything we wanted from T, Shaeand Alyssa, but we (couldn’t) struggle from the perimeter like we did today. I thought we didn’t close out that first quarter when we were up five and then it trickled into the second quarter when they shot 70 percent from the floor. We battled back, we got it to seven-eight, and then the fourth quarter we didn’t convert and we didn’t make shots. Them getting the kid Smalls back, who is one of the better guards in the entire country, they got excited with her coming back. If she doesn’t get hurt in their conference tournament, they’re in the NCAA tournament right now.”

Fernandez on his team battling through injuries to nearly reach 20 wins for the seventh straight season:
“We didn’t get to 20 wins like we wanted to, but we got a lot from this bunch. Now we’ve got to get them better in the offseason.”

Key Stats
18-1– JMU led by 16 at halftime after closing the second quarter on an 18-1 run.
10-0– The Dukes opened the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run after the Bulls cut their deficit to seven heading into the final period.
10– JMU finished with 10 total made three-pointers after sinking six in the first half.

Notables

USF (19-16) finished one victory shy of posting the program’s seventh straight 20-win season, but posted its eighth straight 19+ win season.
USF appeared in the second round of the WNIT for the sixth time in program history.
The Bulls are on a streak of postseason appearances in eight straight seasons. USF made its 15^thoverall postseason appearance, all under the guidance of head coach Jose Fernandez.
JMU extended its home winning streak to 29 straight games. The Dukes headed into Sunday’s action ranking third nationally in scoring defense at 51.0 points allowed per game.
USF was without star Kitija Laksa (knee), Beatriz Jordao (leg) and Silvia Serrat (knee) for the season. The Bulls also had been without Laura Ferreira (heart condition) since January.

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USF notched its sixth consecutive 20-win season and fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017-18. It marked the ninth 20-win season in program history, with head coach Jose Fernandezat the helm for all nine. The Bulls posted 26 wins in 2017-18, just shy of the program record of 27 set in 2008-09 and 2014-15.

USF has made 14 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 18 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to nine 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 300 games.