No. 17 USF beats St. John's 68-59 in Gulf Coast Showcase

Nov 27, 2017, 12:11 pm

ESTERO, Fla. -- Maria Jespersen scored 25 points, and No. 17 South Florida held on to beat St. John's 68-59 on Sunday night in the third-place game at the Gulf Coast Showcase.

Kitija Laksa scored 18 for the Bulls (6-1). They shot 48 percent from 3-point range.

Jespersen had 17 of her points in the first half. She finished 7 for 10 from the field, 4 for 4 from 3-point range and 7 for 8 from the line for USF, which also got 12 points from Laura Ferreira.

Andrayah Adams scored 15 for St. John's (3-2).

After trailing by as many as 13, the Red Storm got to 59-57 with 2:13 left after five straight points from Qadashah Hoppie. But the Bulls finished a 9-2 run.

Hoppie had 12 points for the Red Storm, while Maya Singleton finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Akina Wellere also scored 11 for St. John's.