Sammie Puisis pours in a career-high 26 points for the Bulls; Elena Tsineke adds 22 points in the win.
Game Details
RV/RV USF 67, RV/- Alabama 59
USF (4-0), Alabama (2-1)
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022 | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TAMPA (Nov. 16, 2022) — The University of South Florida women’s basketball team closed out its season-opening four-game home stand in impressive fashion with a 67-59 win over Alabama on Wednesday night in the Yuengling Center.
Florida State transfer and former McDonald’s All-American Sammie Puisis scored 24 of her game and career-high 26 points in the second half and American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year Elena Tsineke scored 22 points.
The Bulls also got big contributions from AAC Preseason First Team All-Conference selection Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, who scored eight points, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and had a career-best five blocked shots, and Carla Brito who grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds.
South Florida trailed 29-23 at the half but then outscored the Crimson Tide 21-9 in the third stanza which included a 12-0 run – with eight of the points coming from Puisis – to give the Bulls a 42-36 lead.
In the fourth quarter the Green and Gold stretched its lead to double figures when Puisis hit two free throws with 2:37 left in the game to make the score, 60-49, and then extended it to its largest margin of the night, 13 points, when Fankam Mendjiadeu hit an eight-foot jumper from the side to make the score 62-49 with just over 90 seconds left.
South Florida’s defense also came to play on Wednesday night, holding the Crimson Tide to their lowest point total of the season, while also holding Brittany Davis, who came into the game tied for 12th in the nation in scoring averaging 25.0 points per game, to just five points on 1-of-9 shooting from the field and 0-for-5 from behind the arc.
Notable
- Wednesday’s starters for the Bulls were: G Elena Tsineke, G Aerial Wilson, G Sammie Puisis, F Carla Brito and F Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu … The Bulls are 4-0 with this lineup.
- Wednesday’s meeting with Alabama was the first in the series between the two schools.
- Fankam Mendjiadeu’s game-high 12 rebounds mark her 37th outing of 10 rebounds or more during her collegiate career.
- Elena Tsineke’s 22 points against the Crimson Tide mark her 61st career double-figure scoring game in her 84th career game with the Bulls.
- Sammie Puisis was 7-for-16 from the field on the night and 5-for-11 from behind the arc … Her five treys made fell just one shy of equaling her career-high of six made against Florida A&M on Nov. 11.
Up Next
South Florida heads out for its first road trip of the season when it travels to Fort Worth, Texas to face TCU in the Maggie Dixon Classic on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET (ESPN+).
Catch The Bulls on Bulls Unlimited & ESPN+
The majority of USF’s regular-season games will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform. The American Athletic Conference and ESPN began a new 12-year television rights agreement which started in 2020-21. Subscriptions for the ESPN+ app are $6.99 monthly or $69.99 annually and can be packaged with Hulu and Disney+ streaming services. A step-by-step guide for subscribing to ESPN+ is located here.
In addition, all games this season will be broadcast live on USF Bulls Unlimited, with Darek Sharp (home and away) and Brigid Merenda (for home games only) on the call. Bulls Unlimited is available via the free Tune In app (search “Bulls Unlimited’’) and provides static-free quality whether you’re listening on your streaming device, laptop or desktop.
About USF Women’s Basketball
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South Florida recorded its 10th 20-win season during the 2021-22 campaign while playing in its sixth American Athletic Conference championship game in its nine years in the conference. The Bulls achieved their highest national ranking of the season when it checked in at No. 13 in the Nov. 30 Associated Press Top 25 Poll, and advanced to their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the last nine years.
USF has made 17 postseason tournament appearances and had eight NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 22 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to 10 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship, and has won over 400 career games. Fernandez was named a finalist for the WBCA and semifinalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Awards. He was also tabbed the 2021 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign.
In 2021-22, the Bulls had three players recognized by The American for impressive seasons, including Elena Tsineke (All-Conference First Team), Bethy Mununga (All-Conference Second Team) and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (All-Conference Second Team).
In addition, Tsineke and Mununga were named to the American Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team.
–#GoBulls –
