No. 18 South Florida women beat Houston to clinch No. 2 seed (Feb 21, 2018)

Published Feb. 21, 2018 9:44 p.m. ET

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Kitija Laksa scored 32 points, Maria Jespersen had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 18 South Florida beat Houston 81-65 on Wednesday night to seal the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference Tournament.

It was Laksa's second straight 30-plus game and her fifth of the season. Jespersen recorded her league-best 16th double-double of the season in the first half with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Ten of her points came in the final 3:10 of the second quarter as South Florida finished the half on a 17-0 run for a 42-33 lead.

Laia Flores dished out 11 assists for South Florida (23-5, 12-2), which had 16 helpers on 23 field goals.

Angela Harris scored 21 points for her third straight game of at least 20 points for Houston (20-8, 9-5). Jasmyne Harris added 14 points and Serithia Hawkins 12.