Tampa, Fla. - A strong start, with as much as a four point edge, gave the Hatters an early lead, but turnovers throughout the game by Stetson allowed USF to take control of the game and roll to an easy victory 95-52, Thursday night at the Sun Dome in Tampa.
"This is a very good South Florida ball club," said head coach Dee Romine, "They have got four starters and two of their top reserves back, the are going to win a lot of games."
After having as high as a four point lead in the first half, the Hatters continued to keep pace with the Bulls until 9-0 scoring run by USF gave them the lead, 25-13 with nine minutes remaining in the half. The Bulls made a 14-4 run in the last three minutes of the half to take a 25-point lead going into the locker rooms.
Senior Janene Maclin (Chicago, Ill.), recorded her second double-double of the season, grabbing 13 rebounds and putting up 16 points, 12 of which she earned in the second half, to lead the Hatters. Junior Vlendy Roldan, a transfer from Sante Fe Community College, added eight points, while freshman Prue Kenny (Geelong, Australia) recorded nine rebounds and went a perfect three-for-three from the line.
"I was happy with the way our team played in the first half," said coach Romine, "I thought we played really competitively and we were outsized in almost every position."
The difference in the game, came in the form of turnovers for the Hatters. Stetson had a total of 29 turnovers vresus 12 for USF. USF led by as many as 45 points in the contest, 40 of which were off of turnovers.
"We had a lot of turnovers in both the first and second half," said coach Romine, "we just have to do a better job of taking care of the ball."
The Bulls were led by senior guard Rachel Sheets, with 17 points. Freshmen Stephanie Sarosi and Porche Grant each grabbed nine rebounds for USF.
Going into the second half, the Bulls never allowed the Hatters to get back into the game and would go onto an easy victory, 95-52.
"This is the kind of game that will make our ball club better down the road," said Coach Romine
The Hatters will be in action again on Saturday November 25 at Southeastern Louisiana, at 3:00 pm. The they will return for their first home game of the season and their first conference game, against Kennesaw State on November 30.
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