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Women's hoops team to begin tough stretch
By ROD GIPSON © St. Petersburg Times, published January 5, 2001 TAMPA -- The good news for the women's basketball team was its 64-58 win over Towson State on Saturday, which snapped a four-game losing streak. The bad news was the Bulls followed that with their second-worst loss of the year -- 82-59 to Houston. What makes the loss really frustrating for first-year coach Jose Fernandez was it came in the first conference game and against a team USF had beaten seven consecutive times. Now the Bulls play four conference games in the next nine days, three of them on the road. The Bulls (3-9) are at Louisville today, host Cincinnati at 2 p.m. Sunday, are at Tulane on Jan. 12 and at Southern Mississippi on Jan. 14. In Louisville (four consecutive wins), Cincinnati (10-2), Tulane (defending C-USA champion) and USM (winners of two of its last three), the Bulls have a tough stretch ahead. "The main thing for us is to get to a point where we're playing with some consistency," said Fernandez before the Bulls began conference play. "We're doing some things well. We're playing with a lot of effort, and we just need to keep working and improve on what we are doing." The Bulls can take some positives out of their 23-point loss to the Cougars. Not much, but some. After a poor start that saw the Bulls endure a 26-2 Cougar run and a 45-22 halftime deficit, the Bulls played even (37-37) in the second half. The Bulls had three players score in double figures: Aiya Shepard (12 points), Shannon Layne (13) and Denetrice Stinson (15). The Bulls, who have been banged up for most of December, can take solace in getting healthier. Guard Melissa Tape has been dealing with a hyperextended elbow. Center Ashley Teets had a bad knee, and Sheperd just returned from a twisted ankle. Five-foot-11 freshman Sarah Lochmann (shin splints) broke into the lineup three games ago and will continue to see playing time. And freshman center Rochelle Cherry will add depth when she returns from an Achilles' injury later this month. That should give a boost to a squad that was down to just six players a few weeks ago. "We were limited in what we could do," Fernandez said. "We were using six players and facing a rotation of 11 or 12. It's only a matter of time before something gives." Still, with a lineup almost back to full strength, the Bulls have suffered defeats of 22, 15 and 23 points in the past month. "We still know we can play better," Fernandez said. "We are just trying to work harder at the things we can improve on, shooting better, rebounding better and not turning the ball over."
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