Storrs — Olivia Nelson-Ododa agrees with her coach, Geno Auriemma, that the UConn women's basketball team is allowed to lose a game once in awhile.

That doesn't mean the sophomore center has to like it at all.

"I don't read into that, but obviously as an individual and as a team we don't want to lose," Nelson-Ododa said. "We're going to play as hard as we can so we don't lose. If or when we do, we come back ready to work to get better."

Improving has been the fifth-ranked Huskies' focus at practice since returning home from their 70-52 loss at No. 1 South Carolina Monday night. They are back on the road for an American Athletic Conference contest against South Florida at the Yuengling Center in Tampa on Sunday (2 p.m., SNY).

The loss against the Gamecocks hit UConn hard because the visitors knew they had been outplayed. South Carolina played well and UConn did not play anywhere near where it believes it's capable.

Even on the flight home the Huskies felt it.

"It was definitely a feeling of disappointment, but of embarrassment too," Nelson-Ododa said. "Situations like that aren't easy, especially for a team like us where our main goal is to win every single time. But you can't dwell on it and you know you have to come back stronger the next practice and figure out what we need to do to get better."

After watching the tape of the game, Auriemma noted the Huskies did a number of good things including winning the rebounding battle with South Carolina and limiting its transition offense.

But, as he has pointed out all season, the Huskies need to shoot the ball well to be successful. A 1-for-16 start from the floor put them in a hole they never got out of.

"The things we went into the game trying to accomplish, we did," Auriemma said. "But we also tried to make shots and we didn't.

"There were some things that were ugly-looking but they're all fixable."

Nelson-Ododa, who was named as one of 10 candidates for the 2020 Lisa Leslie Award that is given to the nation's top center, played admirably in Columbia. She finished with '0 points and team highs of nine rebounds, four assists, and three blocked shots before fouling out in the final minute.

Almost a year ago, Nelson-Ododa made her first career start against USF in place of injured All-American Katie Lou Samuelson. The Huskies trailed at halftime and needed a late surge to pull out a 10-point win.

"Last year being there I didn't have that close-game experience," Nelson-Ododa said. "That was new for me.

UConn (20-3 overall, 10-0 AAC) has a three-game lead in the league race over USF and Cincinnati with six games to go, so Sunday's contest should not have much of an effect on the league race.

But the Bulls (15-9, 7-3) would like to strengthen their case for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. They are also 0-29 against the Huskies since their first meeting in December 2002.

"We got to be ready, knowing that we're going to get everyone's best game," Nelson-Ododa said. "We're prepared for that to happen and we need to know that in order to come out and be successful."

USF has won five of its last six including a 53-43 win at Tulane Thursday night. Sophomore guard Sydni Harvey is the reigning AAC Player of the Week while guard Elena Tsineke is the reigning AAC Freshman of the Week.

"They're hard to play against this year," Auriemma said. "I think they're a better team than they were last year. They're certainly harder to prepare for than they were two years ago. Then you knew who was going to take most of their shots. This year they've spread it around and they have a real good mix. It took them awhile to find themselves. But they're year-in and year-out one of the harder teams to play."