USF captures first-ever NCAA Tournament win
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Inga Orekhova scored 20 points, leading four players in double figures, as the South Florida Bulls held on to defeat the Texas Tech Lady Raiders, 71-70, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at United Spirit Arena.
Andrell Smith pitched in with 13 points for the 10th-seeded Bulls (22-10), followed by Courtney Williams and Alisia Jenkins with 12 and 10 points, respectively, as they secured their first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
The seventh-seeded Raiders (21-11) were paced by Christine Hyde who dropped in 20 points, while Chynna Brown accounted for 17 and Kelsi Baker 15 points before fouling out.
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Texas Tech shot a disappointing 33.3 percent from the floor in the first half, including 2-of-11 behind the 3-point line, yet the Lady Raiders still led by a point at the break, 31-30.
Late in the second half a pair of free throws by Jenkins gave USF a 71-67 advantage before Tech's Casey Morris nailed her only field goal of the night, a 3-pointer, at the buzzer. Morris finished the outing just 1-of-7 beyond the arc and 1-of-12 from the floor overall.
In a game that featured eight ties and nine lead changes, the Bulls survived despite suffering 16 turnovers.
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With the victory, the Bulls now head to the second round in the Spokane Region where they will clash with second-seeded California which defeated Fresno State earlier in the day.