Bulls can’t pull upset in last home game

It was Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at the Sun Dome, but it felt like a road game for the Bulls. 

An unusually high attendance of 5,358 was present to watch USF (19-9, 8-7) match up with UConn (27-2, 14-1).

From the opening basket from UConn, it was apparent why the crowd was so large. 

Fans of the Huskies were out in full force for USF’s final home game of the regular season. But despite their lack of numbers, Bulls fans showed their pride by matching the raucous cheering of the UConn section.

Despite the cheering on senior day, USF’s two biggest seniors, guards Andrea and Andrell Smith, struggled to find a groove against UConn as the Bulls lost, 85-52.

Andrea, who usually leads the Bulls in scoring, managed a 10-point performance, and Andrell contributed with seven of her own. 

Even USF’s lead scorer, junior forward Inga Orekhova with 13 points, was overshadowed by two dominant performances from the Huskies.

UConn sophomore guard Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis posted 32 points, going 6-of-12 from three-point range. Her teammate, junior center Stefanie Dolson, put up 25 points as she went a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line.

This didn’t give Bulls fans much to cheer for. After the first few minutes of play, the game quickly escalated into a blow out, and USF was unable to claw its way back into the game.

USF coach Fernandez said he wasn’t pleased with how the game turned out.

 “We didn’t give ourselves a chance today,” Fernandez said, regarding his team’s effort.

The Bulls trailed the game by 19 at halftime and the UConn fans seemed to become more deafening as the lead increased. 

Looking forward, the Bulls will close the season at Georgetown tonight at 8 p.m.  

Fernandez said while he is upset with the outcome, he has experienced being in the position that USF is currently in.

“I’ve been in this place before where you’re 8-8 or 9-7 and on the bubble, and it’s not a good place to be for us,” Fernandez said.

The past two losses for USF makes the final game of the season against Georgetown all the more important.

Fernandez said despite the recent losses, the team’s two wins against Top 25 teams shouldn’t be overlooked.

“For us, Monday is a must-win for us to get to the NCAA tournament,” he said.