USF’s defense proved too much for Lady Tigers and led to lopsided 69-46 road win. photos by Don Mooney
by Don Mooney 2-1-2024
Memphis, Tenn. – Feb. 1, 2024 – Led by redshirt junior forward Romi Levy’s 24 points South Florida women’s basketball (13-9, 5-4) rolled past Memphis (7-13, 3-6), 69-46, on Thursday night at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse in Memphis, Tenn.
Alasia Smithput put Memphis up 7-4 with less than three minutes into the game after she drained a deep three-pointer from the corner. South Florida held the Tigers scoreless for nearly three minutes while keeping them from any field goals for five minutes until Kai Carter sank a tough lay-up with 14 seconds left on the clock.
The second quarter proved fatal for the Tigers. Memphis faced a 19-14 deficit heading into the second quarter. Tigers took almost four minutes into the second quarter to find the bottom of the net; Carter drew a foul and went 1-2 from the charity stripe before sinking a floater in the paint to make it a 24-17 game.
Romi Levy goes inside for two of her game-high 24 pts over Lady Tigers. photo by Don Mooney
Sophomore forward Daniela Gonzalez finished the night with 15 points, a single point shy of matching her career-best. Freshman guard Vittoria Blasigh (12 points) logged her 15th double-digit output of the season. Senior forward Evelien Lutje Schiphotl led USF on the glass with seven boards.
The Bulls strung together a 14-2 run, to take their largest lead (26 points) against the Tigers, 66-40, with under four minutes to play. Gonzalez scored six of those points while Levy and Blasigh split the remaining eight points and South Florida held out for the victory.
The duo of Carter and Cain kept the Memphis offensive spark alive with jumpers in the lane to face a 50-36 game heading into the final 10 mintues of play.
An offensive cold fourth quarter proved too much for the Tigers as they suffered the 69-46 loss Madison Griggs led the team with 13 points while Ki’Ari Cain and kai Carter both chipped in 10 points each.
Memphis is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 3 when they travel to Dallas, Texas to take on SMU. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.