JONESBORO, Ark. (12/11/16) – The Arkansas State women's basketball team held a two point lead at halftime, but South Florida opened the third quarter on a 10-0 run and never relinquished the lead as the Red Wolves fell to the No. 22 ranked team in the nation 78-59 at the Convocation Center on Sunday afternoon.
Akasha Westbrook led A-State with 16 points, while Dominique Oliver added 10. Westbrook also tied with Lauren Bradshaw for a team-high five rebounds on the afternoon. Kitija Ferreira paced the Bulls with 22 points, while Tamara Henshaw posted 10 rebounds.
“We certainly had a very good first half and did the things we needed to particularly on the offensive end because we were aggressive but also patient,” A-State head coach Brian Boyer said. “In the second half we knew they were going to some different things offensively and even after the 10-0 run we were fine but we just didn't react to it very well and let that turn into other problems that allowed them continue to build the lead.”
A-State led throughout much of the second quarter and pushed the advantage to its largest margin at 28-22 when Tahlon Hopkins knocked down a 3-pointer with 4:23 remaining in the half. The Bulls rallied back, however, and tied the game at 30-30 with 1:10 to go, but A-State took the lead back when Bradshaw hit a pair of free throws to send A-State into the break with a 32-30 lead.
USF came out strong in the second half and went on a 10-0 over to retake the lead at 40-32 after back-to-back 3-pointers from Kitija Laska. After a timeout, A-State bounced back with a layup by Oliver and a 3-point play at the foul line by Jada Ford with get within 40-37 with 5:44 left in the quarter but the Red Wolves could not pull any closer.
The Bulls quickly pushed the advantage back to double-digits after Maria Jespersen made layup to up 51-39. Westbrook helped A-State cut the lead to eight with a 1:45 to go in the third quarter with a pair of free throws, but USF scored the final three points of the period to take a 54-43 edge in the final period.
The deficit remained in double-digits for the remainder of the game, despite several rallies by the Red Wolves. Oliver got Arkansas State within 60-48 with a 3-pointer with 7:31 to go, but that was followed by a 9-0 runs by USF to push the advantage to 67-48 and put the game away.
A-State shot just 30.8 percent from the field for the game, after starting out the afternoon strong with a 36.7 percentage in the opening half. The Red Wolves also had a strong effort on the defensive end of the floor in the opening 20 minutes and forced into 11 turnovers and held them to just five second chance points.
A-State returns to the court Wednesday, Dec. 14 when it will travel to UT Martin to take on the Skyhawks. Tipoff from the Elam Center is set for 11 a.m.
For the latest on the A-State women's basketball log onto the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/RedWolvesWBB, or follow them on Twitter @AStateWB and on Instagram at “AStateWBB.”
