Women’s Basketball Game Time
Wisconsin-Milwaukee (0-0) at USF (0-0)When: Friday, 7 p.m.Where: Sun Dome
The story: Seven months after qualifying for its first NCAA Tournament, the women’s basketball team begins the regular season Friday against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
USF finished with an impressive 19-12 record and went 9-7 in conference play during its first season in the Big East.
Considered a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament, the Bulls entered the tournament with a No. 9 seed and fell to No. 8 Southern California 67-65 in the first round.
The Bulls are returning four starters from last year’s team and were selected to finish seventh in the Big East Conference, receiving four votes in the first ESPN-USA Today Coaches Poll.
Last season, the Panthers qualified for their second NCAA Tournament berth after finishing the regular season with a 22-9 record. In the first round of tournament play, the Panthers fell to Michigan State 65-46.
USF defeated the Miami Sun 101-54 in the team’s lone exhibition game of the season, shooting an impressive 44.8 percent from three-point range.
The Bulls’ first opponent of the season will be no pushover, but Coach Jose Fernandez is looking forward to the challenge.
“A big thing for us last year was our strength of schedule; that’s what got us in the tournament,” Fernandez said. “(The Panthers) are a good team; it’s going to be a very good test for us early.”
Shooting for the record: Senior Jessica Dickson is on the verge of breaking Wanda Guyton’s record for points in a career, which has stood for 17 years. Dickson opens the year third on the all-time scoring list, but only needs 66 points to surpass Guyton.
Dickson could move into second place on the all-time scoring list Friday, as she trails Angie Snyder by just 18 points. Last year, Dickson led the Big East in scoring and finished third in the nation in scoring with 22 points per game.
Keep an eye on: forward Nalini Miller. The team’s best shot blocker already holds the school record for blocks in a career after swatting 65 shots last season.
More Stories
Meet the Team
Oracle EditorProfile
USF gives it away in Memphis 34-33
At the half, a 14-point lead meant USF was on track to win its first conference game in over a calendar year. That energy was kept up even with under five minutes to go when the Bulls were up 33-20. Then USF watched as its lead went from comfortable, to slim, to nonexistent in the […]
Club teams missing competition, friendship due to COVID-19
Under normal circumstances, Grant Nolder, president of the USF flag football team would be preparing for the club’s biggest competition of the year, the Swamp Bowl. The annual tournament, hosted at UF, typically takes place during the fall semester and features some of the best club flag football teams in the country. Winners of the […]
Bulls battle with ECU in OT win
Coach Brian Gregory said Tuesday the Bulls didn’t play complete, 40-minute games in their two losses last week. It’s debatable if they did Wednesday night against East Carolina (11-18, 5-11) at the Yuengling Center, but it was more than enough to put up a 73-68 overtime win. “It’s funny. There were stretches where we played […]
First SG scholarship rewards student leaders
Student Government (SG) launched the first-of-its-kind, merit-based scholarship to students Nov. 5 on USF’s Tampa campus. As a part of Student Body President Britney Deas and Student Body Vice President Travis McCloskey’s platform, Bull S.H.I.F.T., — Success, Health, Innovation, Finance and Tradition — the SG’s Student Leadership Scholarship consists of two merit-based scholarships which will […]
On-campus Jabil institute sparks anticipation from students
A plan drafted on a bar napkin two years ago has now become the USF Jabil Innovation Institute, a multi-million dollar institute combining the College of Engineering and the Muma College of Business. Senior Vice President of Advancement and CEO of the USF Foundation Joel Momberg and Jabil CEO Mark Mondello jotted the idea down […]