TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Sophomore Gives USF Women A Boost

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRIS ERRINGTON, Tribune correspondent

Published: November 18, 2007

TAMPA - University of South Florida sophomore forward Melissa Dalembert may only have started playing basketball during her days at Miramar High School, but Saturday she looked like a polished veteran.
Dalembert recorded team-highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds as USF used a dominating run spanning halftime en route to a 72-56 victory against visiting New Hampshire in the first day of the Best Western Roundball Classic at the Sun Dome.

USF blew open a 24-24 tie by going on a 12-4 run to end the first half, then scored 18 of the first 24 points to open the second half. The spurt opened a 54-34 lead with 13 minutes remaining. While much of the credit goes to a suffocating Bulls defense, time and time again Dalembert was in the middle of the offensive explosion.

"It's just a credit to how hard she worked during the offseason," USF coach Jose Fernandez said. "I wasn't surprised at all by the way she played."
Jazmine Sepulveda and Daiane Packer added 17 and 12 points, respectively, for the Bulls, who improved to 2-1. Amy Simpson led all scorers with 23 points for New Hampshire (1-1).

In the day's first game, Tiffany Hudson led four double-digit scorers with 18 points as Illinois State topped Tennessee-Martin 70-60. Shala Jackson finished with 15 points for Illinois State (3-0), which will battle USF in the de facto championship game at 2 p.m. today.

Crystal Fuller led all scorers with 20 points for Tennessee-Martin (2-1), which plays New Hampshire today at noon.

In a game featuring two big runs, one by each team, New Hampshire took its best shot first. Despite shooting 23 percent from the field for much of the first half, back-to-back 3-pointers sparked an 18-4 run to help pull the Wildcats to a 24-all tie with 3:56 remaining.

It was as close as they would get to an upset victory.

USF dominated from then on, using the 30-10 run to put the game away even though New Hampshire did pull to within 9 points on several occasions late.

USF held commanding advantages in: Points in the paint (28-6), rebounds (46-26), bench points (35-17) and shooting percentage - 46-33.

"We talk to the kids about winning the first four minutes of the second half," Fernandez said. "That was the key."

"We're a young team and we did struggle offensively at times, like the start of the second half when we came out a little flat, but the Bulls are just bigger and stronger than we are," New Hampshire coach Kristen Cole said. "That's what showed up down the stretch."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT