Elena Tsineke leads four players in double figures in the scoring column with 16 points
Game Details
RV/RV USF 85, Stetson 43
USF (3-1), Stetson (1-1)
Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020 | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TAMPA, Fla. (Dec. 13, 2020) — The University of South Florida women’s basketball team got a game high 16 points from Elena Tsineke, and 12 points from Shae Leverett, as the Bulls closed out their nonconference schedule in style with a dominating 85-43 win over instate foe Stetson on Sunday afternoon in the Yuengling Center.
USF, who improves to 3-1 on the year, placed four players in double figures in the victory. Joining Tsineke, a guard from Thessaloniki, Greece, and Leverett, a forward from Rincon, Ga., were Bethy Mununga (Zellik, Belgium) with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Cristina Bermejo (Sant Just Desvern, Spain) with a career high-tying 10 points. Mununga’s double-double marked the 11th of her career and the second of the season.
In the end, all 13 players that played on Sunday made their way into the scoring column.
After a slow start that saw the Bulls trailing Stetson (1-1) at the end of the first quarter, 14-12, USF took control of the game quickly in the second quarter outscoring the Hatters 29-9 to take a 41-23 lead into the locker room at the intermission. The Bulls didn’t let up in the second half, allowing Stetson only 20 total points in the final 20 minutes of play.
USF shot 39 percent from the field (30-for-77) and just 34.6 percent (9-for-26) from behind the arc, however more than made up for it on the glass. The Bulls outrebounded Stetson 69-29, including a 28-6 margin on the offensive boards, with those 28 rebounds leading to 27 second chance points.
Key Stats
20% – The Bulls came into the game against Stetson first in the American Athletics Conference, and fourth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage, allowing the opposition to hit 14.7 percent from behind the arc. Sunday wasn’t much better for the USF’s guests as Stetson connected on just 20 percent (4-for-20) from long range.
27 – The Bulls took advantage of its 28-6 edge on the offensive boards leading to 27 second chance points.
36 – USF controlled the lane against the Hatters, outscoring Stetson, 36-24, in the paint.
Notable
- Today’s starters for the Bulls were: G Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy), G Elena Tsineke, G Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.), F Shae Leverett, and F Bethy Mununga … The Bulls are 3-1 with this lineup.
- The win over Stetson improves USF’s record against the Hatters to 25-10 in the all-time series … The Bulls have won 13 straight games against their instate foe from Deland, dating back to the 1998-99 season.
- The Bulls are 39-3 in nonconference games at home over the last six years … USF has won 24-of-25 nonconference games, and 36 of its last 38, with the only losses coming to Louisville, during the 2016-17 season, and Baylor on Dec. 1.
- Bethy Mununga’s 10 points and 11 rebounds marks her 11th career double-double while at USF, and her second of the season.
- In addition, Mununga’s 11 rebounds marks her 21st career double-figure rebounding game wearing the Green and Gold, and her fourth of the season … In addition, it is her eighth double-figure scoring performance in the last nine outings dating back to last season.
- Cristina Bermejo’s 10 points ties her career high set, just shy of one year ago, against Idaho on Dec. 15, 2019.
- Freshman Jade Blagrove (Barendrecht, Netherlands) and Angelee Rodriguez (Las Piedras, Puerto Rico) each scored career highs against the Hatters on Sunday, netting five and two points, respectively, and each had a career best two rebounds.
Up Next
USF hits the road for the first time during the 2020-21 season as it faces Memphis on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at 3 p.m. (ET) (ESPN+) in Elma Roane Fieldhouse in The American opener for both schools.
About USF Women’s Basketball
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USF notched its ninth consecutive 19-win season and was poised for its ninth straight postseason appearance in 2019-20 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the end of the college basketball season. The Bulls celebrated two all-conference honorees in Elena Tsineke and Elisa Pinzan. Tsineke was named the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, in addition to The American All-Freshman Team and Third Team All-Conference; while Pinzan was named a Third Team All-Conference selection.
USF has made 15 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 20 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to nine 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 350 games.
– #GoBulls –
