College basketball

Bulls loss shows them where they want to be

By GREG AUMAN
Published December 11, 2005

	[Times photo: Brian Cassella]
	Michigan forward Lester Abram won the battle with USF forward Melvin Buckley. Abram scored 18, while Buckley missed 10 of his first 11 shots.

TAMPA - Facing a Michigan State team eight months removed from a national championship game, the upset-minded Bulls showed a glimpse Saturday of what they hope to be.

Then the No. 13 Spartans gave them a longer look.

After 10 minutes USF was leading, and early in the second half the Bulls trailed by three. But Michigan State's inside-outside combo of seniors Liz Shimek and Lindsay Bowen proved too much for a thin, fatigued roster as the Spartans pulled away to an 81-66 win.

"It's going to make us better," said Bulls coach Jose Fernandez, whose team finished a stretch of three games in nine days, all against Top 15 teams. "That's where we want to take this program. We want to be where Michigan State is."

Junior forward Jessica Dickson, the nation's leading scorer, had 25 points to lead the Bulls, but Michigan State countered with Shimek, who scored 28 on 9-for-11 shooting, and Bowen, who scored 22 and hit three 3-pointers.

Bulls center Nalini Miller went 8-for-11 from the field for 16 points, and freshman point guard Shantia Grace had 13 points, matching Dickson with three 3-pointers.

Dickson scored USF's first seven points in the second half, pulling the Bulls within 42-39. But Michigan State got a 3 from Bowen and a basket from Shimek in building a double-digit lead that wasn't threatened again.

Finishing a Sun Dome doubleheader after the men's team lost to Michigan, the Bulls drew a crowd of 1,182, their best regular-season showing since they drew 1,346 against Louisville in January.

The Bulls won't play again until Dec. 19, with three games in the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico.

[Last modified December 11, 2005, 02:15:36]