Women’s Basketball Preview: South Florida

The red hot Cincinnati Bearcats women’s basketball team returns to action on Saturday at 5 PM. They face off with the University of South Florida, a perennial AAC power, in a game which will be televised live on GoBearcats.com.

Cincinnati enters the matchup on a four game winning streak, having disposed of Temple 70-52 in a road win earlier this week. The Bearcats boast a 17-10 overall record and a 9-5 mark in the American.

The #18 University of South Florida Bulls enter the game with a 22-5 overall record and an 11-2 conference record.

On January 4th, South Florida hammered the Bearcats, 69-46.

The South Florida roster includes five players that are averaging better than 10 points per game. In addition to their scoring prowess, the Bulls are one of the AAC’s tallest teams and among its most athletic. As usual, the Bulls have a strong international flavor to their club. Four of their five leading scorers hail from overseas. Kitija Laksa, a 6’0 junior guard from Latvia, is one of the AAC’s leading scorers, averaging nearly 23 points per game.

Maria Jespersen, a 6’0 senior forward from Denmark, is the team’s leading rebounder, averaging nearly 10 boards per game while posting 16.4 points per game. In the first USF-UC matchup, Jespersen led all scorers with 25 points.

Check back with Down the Drive for full post-game coverage of this contest.