Bulls look for third straight win in Big East
Pressure begins to build for the USF womens basketball team as seven games remain for it to prove it deserves a spot in the 2013 NCAA Womens Basketball Tournament.
The Bulls (16-6, 5-4) look to earn their third consecutive win and climb up in Big East standings as they tip off at 7 p.m in a home game against St.Johns.
Every game is crucial, coach Jose Fernandez said.
History indicates that wins against St. Johns do not come easy for USF.
The Bulls have gone 2-5 against the Red Storm (11-10,5-4) ever since they joined the Big East in 2005.
USFs matchup with St. Johns last season resulted in one of those five losses when the Bulls played without former guard Jasmine Wynne, the team leader in steals and scoring and fell to St. Johns, 57-67.
The defeat was due in large part to USFs inability to force many turnovers. USF entered the game averaging 21.9 forced turnovers per game, but was only able to make St. Johns cough the ball up 12 times.
Todays game could be
different, as USF will have senior guards Andrea and Andrell Smith leading the charge.
The Smith duo leads the team in steals and scoring, and Andrell Smith looks to bring a high level of defensive intensity from the
opening tip.
Were going to attack them early, she said.
The twins will spend the
majority of their time defending St.Johns senior guards Shenneika Smith and Nadirah McKenith two players who posted double
figures in USFs loss last season.
Were going to try to make it as uncomfortable as possible for them because theyre good players,
Andrell said.
Before todays game, the twins and their teammates had an
extended stay in Providence, due to the winter storm Nemo. The Smith twins, who are Florida natives, found their blizzard experience to be quite the experience.
To see that much snow and to feel the pressure from the wind was unbelievable, Andrell said. Ive never been in anything like that.
Her sister said she enjoyed the experience.
It was an amazing experience, and its something that Im glad that we got to be a part of, Andrea said.
Despite delays, Smith and her teammates maintained their focus until game day versus Providence.
No matter when the game was, we were going to go out there to compete for 40 minutes and come back happy with a win,
Andrea said.
With local forecasts
predicting cloudy skies in Tampa,
however, the Bulls arent planning
for another delay and will be
hungry for a third straight win.