A dismal USF pounded by Georgetown Hoyas
Georgetown guard Sugar Rodgers came out of the locker room hot and put USF away before it even had a chance to upset the No. 17 Hoyas.
Rodgers connected on each of her first two 3-point attempts to give the Hoyas a 6-0 lead less than 90 seconds after tip-off. With diminutive 5-foot-3 point guard Rubylee Wright feeding her teammates with great effect, the Bulls never had a chance.
Wright dished out six of Georgetown’s 14 assists before the break, and Rodgers shot 5-of-7 from behind the three-point line as the Hoyas opened up an 18-point halftime lead en route to a 67-38 victory at McDonough Arena in Washington, D.C.
A dominating performance on both ends of the court allowed Georgetown (20-5, 8-3) to cruise to an easy victory over USF, which has now lost 10 of its last 11 games. The lone win over that stretch was a 68-64 victory over Seton Hall on Jan. 25.
Thirteen first-half turnovers – just two shy of their season average for full games – put the Bulls (10-14, 1-9) in a difficult hole that they could never climb out of. A dominating 1-2-2 zone defense limited USF to just 23.7 percent shooting from the floor.
Things only got worse for the Bulls in the second half as they were limited to just 13 points after the break.
USF never got closer than a 16-point deficit in the second half as it remained winless on the road in the Big East.
Andrea Smith led the Bulls with just nine points in USF’s worst offensive performance of the season. The 38 points posted is a new season low. The Bulls shot 0 of 20 from 3-point range and turned the ball over 18 times.
Coach Jose Fernandez and the Bulls have little time to regroup before traveling to face the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday at 2 p.m.