Tampa, Fla. – Stetson could not sustain an explosive start to the second half as host USF pulled away late for 78-62 victory Wednesday night at the Sun Dome.
Jama Sharp scored 22 points for the second straight game to lead the Hatters (5-2), who completed a tough six-game road trip with a 4-2 mark.
"I thought we had opportunities, we just didn't execute when we had to,” Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said. “I was pleased with our effort, but disappointed in our execution."
USF (6-2) led by 11 at the break, but Stetson charged ahead with a 17-2 run to open the second half. Myeisha Hall hit a pair of 3-pointers and assisted on a nifty 3-on-1 break with Coddington and Sharp to help the Hatters pull even. A Brianti Saunders free throw gave Stetson its first lead since the opening minutes of the game, and Sharp followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to put Stetson ahead by four, 46-42.
Stetson was held without a field goal over the next six minutes as USF regained the lead. 3-pointers by Tamara Taylor and Courtney Williams put the Bulls up by six with 9:28 to go. The Hatters cut the deficit to four on a lay-up by Amber Porter, but would pull no closer the rest of the way.
“I thought offensively we took some bad shots in the first half, and we didn't attack the basket," Bria said. "In the second half we took great shots and we were much more aggressive. We just played much better. However, against a team like USF, you have to put a full game together, and we didn't do that.”
Williams led the Bulls rally with 17 second-half points. USF entered the week with an unofficial #26 national ranking in the AP Top 25 poll.
“I was very disappointed in our timeout response,” Bria said. “We had two back-to-back turnovers coming out of a timeout (in the second half). You just can't do that against a team like USF. I thought our effort was great overall, but we just had to execute better.”
Sharp was 8-for-13 from the field and 4-for-4 from behind the arc. Stetson hit 10 3-pointers as a team, including three from Hall, who scored 11 points.
Amber Porter scored 16 points and collected four blocks, pulling her into a tie with Sasha Sims for the all-time school record in blocked shots. She now has 147 rejections in just 42 career games.
Stetson will return home at 11 a.m. Friday to face Webber International in the annual Volusia County Schoolchildren Day.
