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USF Women Crush Stetson

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By CHRIS ERRINGTON, Tribune correspondent

Published: November 21, 2007

TAMPA - Following an embarrassing 25-point home loss to Illinois State, University of South Florida coach Jose Fernandez knew he needed to send a message to his players. Practices at 6 a.m. and on game day were more than enough for the Bulls to understand.

In Tuesday's 86-44 win against undersized and overmatched Stetson at the Sun Dome, the USF women's basketball team used a bruising inside game, up-tempo offense and stout defense to grab leads of 14-0 and 26-4.

"I was very disappointed with the effort we showed against Illinois State, so we practiced Tuesday morning," Fernandez said. "Usually we just shoot around, but if we're not going to play with intensity, we're going to be back in here at 6 o'clock and practice the day of the game. It's not going to change until we see this on the court every game.

"Tonight we did what we were supposed to do - win. But you're supposed to do this against this type of team."

Junior center Jessica Lawson scored a game-high 20 points - her second consecutive 20-point game, while junior guard Shantia Grace added 18 on a night in which the Bulls (3-2) never trailed and were never seriously threatened. Caitlyn Mitryk and Porche Grant each chipped in 10.

The lead grew to as many as the 42-point final advantage as Fernandez was able to clear his bench early. Every Bulls player in uniform played at least 4 minutes and all but one scored.

USF (3-2), which is off until it travels to Florida International on Nov. 29, had season highs of 24 offensive rebounds and 54 total rebounds. The domination on the glass led to 26 second-chance points, while the Bulls' 17 forced turnovers were directly turned into another 23 points.

Just as important was USF's ability to eliminate the turnovers that have plagued it all season. The Bulls turned the ball over just eight times after committing 83 during its first four games.

"We want to stay under 14 turnovers a game and when that happens, you get so many more shot attempts," Fernandez said. "Now we get an opportunity to fix a lot of problems before FIU."

Tierra Brown led Stetson (1-4) with 13 points, while Ayesha Barkley added 10.

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