Realistically, if someone out there expected the USF women’s basketball team to beat South Carolina on the Gamecocks’ home floor Sunday, they probably kept it to themselves.
South Carolina, the defending national champion, is basketball royalty. USF has a proud program with many accomplishments, but obviously, it isn’t on the Gamecocks’ level.
Yet, after South Carolina’s 78-62 victory, there was a sense that maybe USF had turned a corner in its quest to earn an NCAA bid this season.
“We can definitely build on it,” Bulls coach Jose Fernandez said. “It shows that we've had progress, and we're getting better by playing the type of schedule we've played.”
We’ve talked a lot this season about USF’s goliath-sized non-conference schedule. The Bulls have played 2nd-ranked UConn, the 3rd-ranked Gamecocks, 12th-ranked TCU, and have a game against 9th-ranked Duke coming up.
The Bulls also played SEC teams Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.
The games haven’t always been pretty; UConn and TCU had lopsided wins over USF. From the outset Sunday, it looked like more of the same as South Carolina roared in front 18-4 with 4:42 left in the first quarter.
After that, though, the Bulls were outscored by just two points over the final 3 ½ quarters. More impressively, it was how they did it.
They were 55.6 percent on 3-point shots. South Carolina prides itself on being tough on the boards but had only a 35-34 advantage. USF had 17 offensive rebounds to 12 for the home team. South Carolina coach Dawn Staley seemed particularly miffed by that.
L`or Mputu had 10 boards – including eight offensive rebounds – for the Bulls, while Sammie Puisis led USF with 19 points.
USF fell to 5-6, but the schedule is about to lighten up compared to what it has been.