Bulls finish off Eagles

South Florida (26-10) kicked off the game in attack mode, scoring the first points on two steals within a minute of each other by freshman guard Jasmine Wynne (19 points). Although BC (23-12) seemed off-balance from the start, the Eagles countered the Bulls' defensive energy by winning the boards, totaling 22 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

South Florida maintained its early lead but with 10:43 remaining in the first half, Eagles sophomore forward Lauren Whitehurst hit a jumper to tie the score, 11-11, and the host took a 15-13 lead less than two minutes later on a layup by freshman guard Jasmine Gill.

The Eagles settled down and used their height advantage, with 6-foot-6-inch center Carolyn Swords dominating inside. Swords notched 8 points after the Eagles seized the lead, which they carried into the locker room (32-28).

"We're a team that averages in the high 70s," South Florida coach Jose Fernandez said. "We're a team that likes to play quick, and I thought the tempo of the game favored them in the first half."

But South Florida emerged from the locker room a different team. Stokes, who netted only 3 points over the first 20 minutes, caught three-fever, hitting five triples to finish with a team-high 22 points.

"I think the first half we were sitting on top of each other," Stokes said. "Then we kind of spaced the floor and took advantage of our quickness over their guards and got the ball to the people that [were open]."

BC kept it close, but with about 10 minutes remaining, South Florida pulled away. The visitors took a 15-point lead on Stokes's final 3-point shot of the night with 6:54 remaining. Despite strong efforts from Swords and Whitehurst (11 points, 10 rebounds), the Eagles were unable to adjust their game and create a comeback.

"I'm really proud of our guys," Fernandez said. "I thought we got out and ran and created tempo more and got easy baskets in the open floor, but the 3-point shot is a big part of our game, too, and we were 1 for 8 in the first half."

First-year BC coach Sylvia Crawley said although the Eagles didn't win, she is looking forward to carrying the team's strengths into next season and praised Whitehurst, who notched her first double-double.

"We'll need her to kind of start where she left off this season next season," said Crawley. "If we get that from her, we're going to be a pretty tough team and that's what we need on our team. She's a big part of what we're going to do next year."

South Florida will travel to Kansas to face the Jayhawks in the title game Saturday.