USF women’s basketball records fifth straight win on Alumni night

USF’s Edyn Battle drives to the basket in the Bulls Jan. 17 win over Wichita State. ORACLE PHOTO/HAYLEY REED

USF women’s basketball was able to pick up its fifth straight conference win on Saturday, led by a strong interior presence and defense.

South Florida (12-7, 5-1 American) proved to be too much for Wichita State (3-15, 0-6 American), as it went on to win 75-53.

The Bulls attacked inside the arc early, with 12 of the team’s 18 first-quarter points coming from inside the paint.

Wichita State had a similar offensive game plan, taking high percentage shots inside and attacking the Bulls’ defense.

USF was able to build momentum at the end of the first quarter, with a layup by guard Katie Davidson putting the Bulls within one point of Wichita State.

The Shockers ended the first quarter with a 19-18 lead.

Despite a competitive start, Bulls interim head coach Michelle Woods-Baxter opted not to use any timeouts — letting the players fight through adversity on the court.

“We were really trading baskets, and I was not afraid the game would get out of hand,” Woods-Baxter said. “So I could let them go ahead and fight through it and figure things out.”

After a back-and-forth first quarter, USF was able to pull away from Wichita State in the second quarter.

Senior forward Ines Piper’s layup gave the Bulls a lead that they would hold onto for the remainder of the game.

South Florida’s defense was suffocating, holding the Shockers to just six points in the second quarter.

The Bulls dominated the turnover battle in the first half, grabbing seven steals and two blocks, leading to many of Wichita State’s struggles offensively.

“We take pride on defense,” Davidson said. “We don’t wanna go bucket for bucket, we want to get stops.”

Davidson had a dominant first half with 17 points, helping South Florida walk into the half with a seven-point lead.

USF came out strong in the third quarter offensively, adding onto an already comfortable lead.

Every time Wichita State gained momentum, the Bulls would match with a basket to keep the Shockers out of reach.

USF outscored Wichita State 22-12 in the quarter, en route to a dominant win for the Bulls.

The fourth quarter was much of the same, as WSU had no answer for the offensive output of South Florida.

Senior guard Edyn Battle continued her strong season with 14 points and a season-high 10 assists.

Davidson ended her performance with a season high of 24 points, along with 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

The Bulls will look to continue their hot streak as they go on the road to take on Temple this Wednesday.