Bulls head to D.C. to face No. 17 Hoyas
The USF women’s basketball team will travel to the nation’s capital tonight to face off against a staunch opponent in No. 17 Georgetown.
USF trails the Hoyas 4-3 in the all-time series and 2-1 in games played in Washington. They have the chance to tie both counts with tonight’s game.
The Hoyas (19-5, 7-3) are on a five-game winning streak and coming off a solid 55-38 victory over Cincinnati on Saturday. After allowing the Bearcats to come as close as two points in the second half, Georgetown eventually pulled away with a 17-3 run.
Tiny point guard Rubylee Wright, listed at 5-foot-3, had a game-high 14 points and hit four three-point shots.
Cincinnati focused its defensive efforts on Georgetown’s leading scorers Sugar Rogers, who scored nine points, and Monica McNutt, but that effort was not enough to overcome the Hoyas, as it left Wright unguarded on the perimeter.
Tuesday’s game will be USF’s second straight against a ranked opponent. The Bulls fell 76-68 to No. 8 Notre Dame on Sunday. Though they lost, USF played inspired basketball until the final buzzer. Andrea and Andrell Smith and Akila McDonald led a 13-3 charge at the end of the second half, yet couldn’t quite get within striking distance of the lead.
“A lot of people say that’s a monumental effort – we lost. We need to answer when it’s a tie game or up one or down one,” coach Jose Fernandez said. “We continue to grow and continue to prepare. Now we just got to turn around and get ready for Georgetown. It’s another Top 20 team. That’s what this league is all about.”
Notre Dame is second in the league standings, but USF is ranked 13th in the 16-team league.
The game will be nationally televised on the CBS College Sports network with tip-off at 9 p.m.