Laksa scores 34, No. 22 South Florida tops E Carolina 76-66

Feb 8, 2018, 09:11 pm

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Kitija Laksa scored 34 points and Tamara Henshaw had a double-double and No. 22 South Florida eased away from East Carolina 76-66 on Wednesday night.

Laksa made 14 of 22 shots, including half of her eight 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds, finishing four points shy of her career best. Maria Jespersen added 16 points and Henshaw had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls (19-4, 8-2 American), who bounced back from a loss at Memphis on Sunday.

A 13-2 run carried the Pirates to a 20-14 lead after one quarter and they led 39-37 at the half. South Florida scored the last 10 points of the third quarter, six by Laksa, to pull ahead 56-52. A Laksa 3, followed by a basket by Henshaw and a Jespersen trey pushed the lead to 66-56 with 6:30 left and the Pirates never got closer than nine.

South Florida, beaten inside 36-20 by Memphis, had a 38-26 advantage and shot 52 percent.

Kristen Gaffney had 25 points and 12 rebounds for East Carolina (10-14, 1-10), who lost their eighth straight.