It just took a little too long for USF’s women’s basketball team to find its game Sunday afternoon, and the Bulls dropped their fifth Conference USA game in a row, 72-63 against Louisville.

Following a 72-37 loss to Cincinnati Friday in the Sun Dome, and after a dismal first half in which the Bulls (5-13, 0-5) shot 20 percent from the field and 0-of-13 from three-point range, USF came out in the second half against the Cardinals determined to take home a victory.

The Bulls cut a 22-point second-half deficit down to six points behind an Alana Tanksley three-pointer with 1:55 remaining. But the hot second-half shooting (41 percent) and the time ran out for the Bulls in the waning moments, extending USF’s losing streak to seven games.

“We’re going to continue to work and get better,” USF coach Jose Fernandez said. “That’s what we talked about in the second half.

“I thought in the first half we beat ourselves. We just weren’t shooting the ball real well and with confidence. We didn’t create second shot opportunities, and when you’re down 21 (points), you can go two directions — you can go south and get blown out, or you can do what these kids just did (and fight back).”

Although the Bulls are riding a month-long losing streak and are winless in conference play, the Bulls still feel confident when it comes time to play.

“We know we can win every game we play,” senior guard Aiya Shepard said. “We know it’s a team effort, and sometimes we don’t always play good together as a team, but I think this is a pretty big step because everybody played like a team today and (next) Saturday we’re going to show it.”

The Bulls aren’t out of the picture just yet in C-USA. Although the team sits at the bottom of the standings with 11 games remaining, the Bulls still believe they’ve got a shot to do some damage this year.

“We know, eventually, after we get our first win, we’ll be on a roll,” Shepard said. “Hopefully, Saturday we’ll start it.”

Adam Adkins covers USF women’s basketball and can be reached at oraclesports@yahoo.com