USF women's hoops to play in Virgin Islands

Jose Fernandez has a trip to the Virgin Islands coming in November, but it'll hardly be a vacation. USF's women's basketball team will play tough three games there as part of the Paradise Jam tournament.

The Bulls, who have played games in Cancun and in Puerto Rico in the last three seasons, will be in the Virgin Islands on Nov. 27-29, playing games against California, Iowa and Texas Tech.

Those three games will significantly upgrade USF's nonconference schedule, as California went 26-6 last season and was a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, losing in the second round. The Golden Bears were ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll and No. 18 in the last coaches' poll, and ESPN.com's Charlie Creme has Cal No. 7 in his early preseason top 25 for next season. Iowa also made the NCAA field as a No. 9 seed, losing in the first round to finish 21-10, and Texas Tech (16-15) reached the quarterfinals of the Women's NIT.

USF also handed out its postseason honors for women's basketball, with junior guard Shantia Grace taking home MVP honors. For a full rundown of all the awards, check out USF's official site.

-- Remember Ashley McCray? The 6-foot-3 post player from Orlando signed with USF two years ago but failed to qualify academically. USF is pretty full on post players, so the Bulls aren't really a match, but after two seasons at Chipola College, she'll visit Arkansas this weekend on a recruiting trip, with VCU also a possibility.