Harbut Scores 16 Points In Orange Loss At USF, 73-55

Wednesday, January 18

Tampa, Fla.

7:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

South Florida

Tracy Harbut notched a team-best 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

Harbut Scores 16 Points In Orange Loss At USF, 73-55

1/18/2006 9:48:11 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. – Junior Tracy Harbut (Lexington, Ky.) scored 16 points as the Orange lost at South Florida, 73-55, at the USF Sun Dome on Wednesday, Jan. 18. Freshman Brittany Smith (Milwaukee, Wisc.) pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds in the loss. South Florida’s Jessica Dickson, the nation’s leading scorer, recorded 25 points for the Bulls.

The Bulls capitalized on 24 SU turnovers and converted them into 23 points. The Orange managed five points off of nine USF miscues. SU shot 43 percent (22-51) from the field while South Florida went just 38 percent (27-70) form the floor. The Orange’s 51 field goal attempts is a season-low. SU also failed to connect on a 3-pointer for just the second time this year.

Harbut went 6-for-13 from the floor and 4-for-5 from the charity stripe on the night. Sophomore Vaida Sipaviciute (Kaunas, Lithuania) finished the night with 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Her 14 points gives her 311 for the season, which is more than any SU player scored in 2004-05. Freshman Cintia Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y.) earned her ninth start of the season, and first since Dec. 17 against Binghamton. Redshirt freshman Sara Antolick (Bethlehem, Pa.) dished out four assists in the game, a new career best. Freshman Jenny Eckhart (Libertyville, Ill.) grabbed five boards, which matches a career high, as she played 40 minutes for the eighth time this season.

With the score tied, 6-6, at the 14:52 mark in the first half, USF used a 16-6 run to open up a 22-12 lead with 9:12 remaining. SU scored six of the next seven points to cut the lead to five, 23-18, with 7:97 left in the opening frame. The Bulls responded with a 7-2 scoring stretch to push the advantage back to 10, 30-20, and then closed out the half outscoring the Orange 11-7 in the final 3:25 to take a 41-27 halftime lead.

In the second half, South Florida extended its lead to 18 points on a pair of Dickson free throws, 51-33, with 14:22 remaining in the game. With USF up 59-41 at the 8:52 mark, SU scored eight unanswered points to pull back within 10, 59-49, with 6:05 left. South Florida promptly took a timeout, and came out of it to go on a 10-2 run to pull away, 69-51, with 2:27 remaining in the game.

For South Florida (12-6, 2-3), Dickson was 9-for-25 from the field and also collected eight rebounds. Rachael Sheets added 12 points and eight boards, and Nalini Miller and Shantia Grace both notched 10 points. Ezria Parsons brought down a game-best nine rebounds.

The win is the first for the Bulls in the all-time series. Syracuse owns a 2-1 overall record against USF, winning the first two meetings back in 1989.

SU (7-10, 0-6) returns to the Carrier Dome on Saturday, Jan. 21, when it hosts Cincinnati for a 1:00 p.m. tip.