Bulls to be honored by mayor

The USF women’s basketball team will be honored by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn on Friday at the mayor’s office.

Buckhorn will recognize the Bulls for their run in the NCAA Tournament.

The Bulls (22-11, 9-7) made the tournament for the first time since 2006, entering as the No. 10 seed, and saw their first tournament win, defeating No. 7 Texas Tech University in the opening round before losing in overtime to No. 6 seed, the California Golden Bears.

Along with members of the team, the coaching staff will be there as Buckhorn delivers a proclamation and will award the team with certificate of achievements.

USF’s historic season began with the team winning eight straight wins before losing to the Nebraska Huskers, a Top 25 team at the time, at home.It continued with the Bulls defeating another ranked team, No. 12 Louisville, on the road and Syracuse at home.

Then, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, USF stunned the Red Raiders with junior guard Inga Orekhova hitting a 3-pointer to tie the game at 66 with 1:03 remaining. Senior forward Tiffany Conor’s free throws gave USF a three-point lead with 14 seconds left, and the game ended with the Bulls pulling out the win 71-70.

The season ended with the Bulls losing in overtime to the Golden Bears.

As the season ended, Bulls guard Andrea Smith wasdrafted by the Connecticut Sun in the third round of the WNBA draft.

With Smith off to the pros and seven other seniors that USF will be missing going into next season, the event, which is set to begin at 2 p.m., can help this Bulls squad end the semester on a high note.