Sammie Puisis pours in a career-high 28 points and Elena Tsineke has 14 points; Jose Fernandez pulls to within five wins from tying Geno Auriemma as the all-time leader in conference victories in The American.
Game Details
RV/RV USF 66, Tulane 53
USF (16-4, 5-0 AAC), Tulane (11-7, 1-4 AAC)
Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023 | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
Postgame Press Conference: Jose Fernandez | Sammie Puisis & Elena Tsineke
Click here for the game highlights link
TAMPA (Jan. 14, 2023) — The University of South Florida women’s basketball team got a career and game-high 28 points from Sammie Puisis, including 19 points in the second half, and Elena Tsineke added 14 points as the Bulls defeated Tulane, 66-53, on Saturday night at the Yuengling Center. South Florida improves to 16-4 on the year and 5-0 in the American Athletic Conference, while also moving to 10-0 on its home floor this season. The Green Wave fall to 11-7 overall and 1-4 in The American.
Puisis and Tsineke were one half of a quartette of double-figure scorers for the Bulls. The tandem was joined by Carla Brito with 12 points and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu with 10 points and a game-high 16 rebounds.
South Florida, who trailed 31-29 at the half, seemed to come on in the third quarter behind a 10-0 run to make the score, 41-33, off a fast-break three-pointer by Puisis with just under six minutes left in the third stanza.
The Green Wave had one last run in them cutting the Bulls’ lead to just one point, 44-43, with 3:20 left, however, the Green and Gold didn’t break closing out the quarter scoring eight of the last 10 points to take a 52-45 advantage into the final 10 minutes of play. South Florida pushed its lead back to double-digits – leading by as many as 15 points, 66-51 – on a driving layup by Brito with under two minutes left in the contest.
With the win, South Florida Head Coach Jose Fernandez recorded his 113th career conference win in The American, just five shy of tying UConn Head Coach Geno Auriemma’s 118 league wins in the AAC, and six from becoming The American’s all-time leader in conference wins.
Notable
- Saturday’s starters for the Bulls were: G Elena Tsineke, G Aerial Wilson, F Sammie Puisis, F Carla Brito and F Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu … The Bulls are 14-4 with this lineup.
- The win over Tulane improves the Bulls’ record against the Green Wave to 30-20 in the all-time series … The victory was also the 21st in the last 22 games against Tulane and the 23rd in the last 25 games.
- The win over the Green Wave also improves South Florida to 10-0 at home and 13-0 dating back to last season … Since the 2019-20 season the Bulls boast a 44-5 record in the Yuengling Center.
- Elena Tsineke’s 14 points against Memphis mark her 76th career double-figure scoring game in her 99th career game with the Bulls.
- Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu’s 10 points and 16 rebounds mark her 46th career double-double and her 21st in a South Florida uniform.
Up Next
South Florida will now play three of its next four games on the road beginning at Houston on Jan. 18 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
The Bulls will return to the Yuengling Center on Jan. 22 for the first edition of the 2022-23 War on I-4 against Central Florida (2 p.m., ESPNU) before heading out for back-to-back road games at Tulsa on Jan. 25 (5 p.m. ET, ESPNU) at Memphis on Jan. 28 (3 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 $9.99 monthly or $99.99 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 –
