USF women advance with 72-44 win over Temple

Mar 8, 2015, 10:08 pm

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Inga Orekhova scored 22 points to help third-seeded South Florida beat six-seed Temple 72-44 on Saturday night in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.

Courtney Williams added 12 points for the Bulls (19-11), who will face No. 3 Louisville in the semifinals on Sunday.

Both teams got off to sluggish starts and USF only led 21-17 with 4:36 left in the first half before closing the opening 20 minutes with a 15-2 run. Orekhova had nine points during the burst and helped South Florida lead 36-19 at the half.

Temple (14-16) couldn't mount any real charge in the second half to close the gap.

Feyonda Fitzgerald scored 20 points to lead the Owls. She was just 5 for 20 from the field.