TGIF: thank God it’s February

The USF women’s basketball team can be sure of one thing when it hosts the UAB Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Sun Dome.

There is no way that February can be any worse than January.

The Bulls (5-13) went winless in January, dropping all seven of their games and forming a season-high, seven-game losing streak.

Their closest loss last month was to the Blazers, a 73-71 setback on Jan. 12 in Birmingham.

USF played that game with limited action from center Jameelah Trimble, who sat out all but eight minutes because of a suspension.

Also, senior Aiya Shepard had one of her best games of the season against UAB, scoring a game-high 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-3 from three-point range.

Struggles for the Bulls have come on offense this season.

However, it was the defense that doomed the team in the last meeting against the Blazers.

The Bulls shot above 40 percent on offense against UAB in the first meeting.

However, the Bulls allowed the Blazers to shoot 51.9 percent from the field, including 62.5 percent in the second half.

USF was also edged in rebounding, 48-31, and allowed 15 offensive boards.

Trimble should be able to make her presence felt Saturday. She scored four points and grabbed a rebound in her limited time on the floor.

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