Women's basketball falls short at No. 22 USF

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Fall Short At No. 22 USF
Kiara Perry Leads SMU With 18 Points

TAMPA, Fla. (SMU) - SMU's defense limited No. 22 USF's high-scoring offense to one of its lowest point totals of the season, but the Mustangs couldn't get quite enough on offense to grab the road upset, falling 64-54.

Senior Kiara Perry led the way on the offensive end with a team-high 18 points while also grabbing seven rebounds. Fellow senior McKenzie Adams joined Perry in double-figures by scoring 11.

The Mustangs held the Bulls to 13 fewer points than their season average. Outside of a quick burst out of halftime to build a lead for the first time, SMU never let USF settle into much of a rhythm on offense.

However, that stretch out of the half turned out to be the difference in the game. After heading to the locker room for halftime in a four-point game, USF scored the first 11 points out of the break to immediately stretch its lead to 15.

In the first half, USF connected on just 2-of-9 shots from 3-point range. In the second half though, shots started falling for the Bulls. USF hit 7-of-11 shots from 3 in the second half, including 7-of-8 shooting in the fourth quarter, to get enough separation for the win.

The Mustangs did a good job of once again limiting turnovers on the offensive end which allowed them to hang around with a top-25 opponent. The biggest issue for SMU was that the shots were just not falling with consistency, finishing at 32 percent from the floor.

USF shot just 33 percent, 10 percent lower than their season average, but nine buckets from 3-point range and 15 free throws was enough for the 10-point win.

SMU returns home on Saturday, February 17 to host Wichita State for a 2 p.m. tip.