RV/RV USF(4-1) rolled past RV/RV Oklahoma (3-1) in the teams’ Paradise Jam opener, leading by as much as 20 in the second half to top the Sooners 83-68. The Bulls shot .429 from the field, scored 21 second-chance points and added 17 points off of turnovers to cruise to their fourth win of the season Thursday night at the University of St. Thomas.

Alisia Jenkins and Courtney Williams led USF in scoring, recording a combined 48 points while shooting .515 from the field. With the Bulls up four with less than six minutes remaining in the first half, Williams took control for the Bulls, knocking down four shots on four attempts. Her three free-throws at the end of the half sent USF to the locker room with a 38-29 lead. Williams scored 19 points in the first half alone, while Jenkins added four points and four rebounds.

Jenkins scored 17 points and added seven rebounds in a blowout second half as the Bulls bounced the lead between 15 and 20 points for the remainder of the evening. USF played 10 different players for at least 10 minutes in the win, with 11 different players scoring in the game. Williams had a game-high 27 points, five rebounds and four assists in the win. Jenkins also eclipsed the 20-point mark, scoring 21 and contributing 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.

No. 22/22 Syracuse 69, East Carolina 58

East Carolina suffered its first loss of the season, a 69-58 setback to 22nd-ranked Syracuse in the first round of the 2014 Junkanoo Jam Thursday afternoon in Freeport, Bahamas.
 
Making her first-career start, I’Tiana Taylor led all scorers with 22 points on 9-for-14 shooting, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and three steals. Jada Payne added 13 points and shot 3-for-6 from 3-point range.
 
East Carolina (5-1) opened up the game with a 6-2 run to the 17:30 mark on a jumper and free throw by Taylor and a three off the hand of Payne, but Syracuse (4-0) jumped out to a 14-0 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes. The Orange led 16-6 with 14:04 remaining in the first half. Syracuse opened up its largest lead of the day at 25 and held a 43-18 advantage with 4:08 to go in the period. The Pirates couldn’t cut their deficit to single digits, but came as close as 13 with the score 64-51 with 4:11 left in the game after a three by Payne. The Hickory, N.C., native hit her third and final three of the game with seven seconds remaining to arrive at the 11-point difference in the final score.