Jespersen's 17 and 11 leads No. 25 USF women by Tulane 75-46

Dec 31, 2017, 06:50 pm

TAMPA, Fla. -- Maria Jespersen had 17 points and 11 rebounds and No. 25 South Florida opened American Conference play with a 75-46 win over Tulane on Sunday.

Tamara Henshaw and Kitija Laksa added 14 points apiece and Laia Flores had 11 assists for the Bulls (11-3).

Meredith Schulte led the Green Wave (8-6), who had a three-game winning streak snapped, with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Kolby Morgan, who averages 21.8 points, was held to eight on 3-of-19 shooting.

South Florida never trailed and scored the last eight points of the first quarter for a 22-13 lead. That carried into the second quarter when Alba Prieto hit a 3-pointer and Flores had a layup, her sixth point in the run. After Harlyn Wyatt ended the drought for the Green Wave, USF broke the game open with a 15-2 run and led 44-20 at the half.

The Bulls shot 50 percent in the first half while Tulane was at 23.5 after going 3 of 17 in the second quarter.