Laksa, Jespersen help No. 17 USF women hold on 83-78

Dec 2, 2017, 09:04 pm

WASHINGTON -- Kitija Laksa scored 27 points, Maria Jespersen added 25 and No. 17 South Florida held off George Washington 83-78 on Saturday.

Laura Ferreira added 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals for the Bulls (7-1). Laksa knocked down five 3-pointers, giving her 35 on the season for second in the country, and Jespersen went 11 of 15 from the field with 13 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.

The Colonials (3-5) trailed 42-35 at halftime but kept battling back from small deficits and tied the game at 67 on a Lexus Levy 3-pointer with 6:27 to play. But Laia Flores answered with a jumper and Laksa hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put USF up 75-67 with 4:25 remaining.

George Washington kept the pressure on but the Bulls made six free throws in the final minute, four by Laksa, to hold on.

Brianna Cummings had a career-high 23 points for the Colonials.