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Bulls Win 4th Straight

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By GREGG BECNEL, Tribune correspondent

Published: December 6, 2007

TAMPA - The University of South Florida women's basketball team extended its winning streak to four Wednesday while continuing to exasperate Coach Jose Fernandez.

The Bulls were never threatened, but could never put North Florida completely away in a less-than-impressive 75-68 win in front of 861 at the Sun Dome.

"If we play like this in the Big East, we're not going to win many games," Fernandez said. "We're getting very inconsistent play from a lot of people on this ballclub that are playing a lot of minutes. And that's got to change."

Junior center Jessica Lawson had her second consecutive double-double, finishing with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. She also had a game-high four steals and two blocks.

USF outscored the Ospreys 34-16 in the paint.

Two local high school products played a significant role in the Bulls' win.
Freshman guard Gianna Messina, of the Academy of the Holy Names, scored a career-high 15 points (three 3-pointers), while senior forward ChiChi Okpaleke, of Tampa Bay Tech, had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

"I was very proud of Gianna Messina and ChiChi Okpaleke," Fernandez said. "I thought they played with a lot of effort and a lot of heart."

USF (6-2) led by as many as 13 in first half and 18 in the second half, but each time North Florida (2-5) responded with a run to cut its deficit to less than 10.

"I told our young ladies, 'Nobody fears the University of South Florida.' What have we done?" Fernandez said. "It's not like we don't have good enough players. We're a talented team. I just think this team takes too many plays off.

"It's disappointing how poorly we're playing at home. If you don't play well at home you're not going to play well anywhere."

One area of irritation for Fernandez is the Bulls' poor free-throw shooting. USF, which went into the game shooting 62 percent from the line, made just 21 of 38 attempts (55 percent).

"We left 17 points on the free-throw line," Fernandez said.

Junior guard Shantia Grace also reached double figures for the Bulls, scoring 13.
North Florida sophomore center Willonda Windham, of Armwood, was held scoreless, while finishing with one rebound, one assist, one steal and one block in 13 minutes.

USF hosts Florida A&M on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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