The Bulls look to stay undefeated at the Yuengling Center and maintain momentum entering AAC play, Jan. 5.
TAMPA (Dec. 29, 2019) – USF returns to the Yuengling Center for the first of two-straight games, beginning with Brown on Monday in the final game of 2019. Game time is slated for 5:30 p.m. The Bulls look to improve to 8-0, on their home floor, and keep up their momentum as they begin American Athletic Conference play with Cincinnati on Jan. 5 at 2 p.m.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV/Video: BullsVision (GoUSFBulls.com)
Jim Louk (PxP)
Audio: Bulls Unlimited (iHeartRadio/GoUSFBulls.com)
Darek Sharp (PxP), Brigid Merenda (Analyst)
Live Stats: GoUSFBulls.com
Series: Series tied, 1-1
Twitter Updates: @USFWBB
Tickets: (800) Go-Bulls; USFBullsTix.com
USF BULLS | 7-6
Last Game: Dec. 21 at UNLV, L, 61-51
Next Game: Jan. 5 vs. Cincinnati, 2 p.m.
Head Coach: Jose Fernandez
Alma Mater: FIU, 1994
Career Record: 361-265 (20th season)
at USF: Same
BROWN BEARS | 5-6
Last Game: Dec. 29 at Florida International, TBA
Next Game: Jan. 17 at Yale, 5 p.m.
Head Coach: Sarah Behn
Alma Mater: Boston College, 1993
Career Record: 160-206 (14th Season)
at Brown: 71-83 (Sixth season)
QUICK HITS
– USF comes into the Brown game looking to end their nonconference home slate undefeated for the third-straight season, while looking to extend their nonconference home winning streak to 21 games.
– USF is coming off a 61-51 loss at UNLV in the consolation game of the Duel on the Desert on Dec. 21 … Kristyna Brabencova and Shae Leverett each had nine points, Tamara Henshaw grabbed 13 rebounds … Henshaw was named to the Duel in the Desert All-Tournament Team.
– USF has two players – Elena Tsineke (11.5) and Bethy Mununga (10.4) – who are averaging double-figure points, and four others who are netting no less than 7.0 points per game.
TICKET & PROMOTION INFORMATION
– For ticket questions or to purchase tickets, please visit USFBullsTix.com or call 1-800-GoBulls … Single-game tickets are available; however; courtside seats are sold out for the 2019-20 season.
– When the Bulls return to the Yuengling Center on Dec. 30 for their 5:30 p.m. match up with Brown University, it will mark their “New Year’s Eve Celebration” … Fans can post New Year’s resolutions on the resolutions board and fans 21 years or older can partake in the Champagne Bar.
– USF’s American Athletic Conference opener on Jan. 5, at 2 p.m., will be the Bulls’ Salute to Service day … All former and current active members of the military, or first responders, can receive free tickets, by going to VetTix.com … In addition, the first 500 fans in attendance will receive a camouflage bandana.
UP NEXT FOR USF
– Following its game against Brown, USF will close out its post-holiday home stretch when it opens American Athletic Conference play against Cincinnati on Jan. 5 at 2 p.m., in the first game of 2020.
– After the Bulls’ AAC lid lifter against the Bearcats, they will hit the road for two-straight beginning at Tulsa on Jan. 12, at 6 p.m. ET … USF closes out the back-to-back road tilts at Temple on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE BULLS
– In just eight games, Elena Tsineke has already made her presence felt for the Bulls after being cleared to play by the NCAA … Tsineke missed the first five games of the season after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA … A native of Greece, Tsineke leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.5 points per game … She has scored double figures in six of the eight games she has played, including a career-high 19 points against Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 29 in the Cancun Challenge … She is shooting 40.3 percent (31-for-77) from the field, including 32.4 percent (12-for-37) from behind the arc, and 85.7 percent (18-for-21) from the free-throw line.
– Bethy Mununga comes into Monday’s game averaging just shy of a double-double through the first 10 games she has played this season … She has missed the past three games with a hamstring injury … Her 10.4 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per outing are second and first on the team, respectively … She has scored in double figures in six of the 10 games played, including a career-high 16 points against Baylor to go along with a career-high tying 12 rebounds … She’s shooting 55.6 percent (45-for-81) from the field on the year.
– Mununga has recorded a double-double in five of the 10 games she has played in … She is second in The American, and 34th in the nation, in double-doubles through Dec. 28 … She has grabbed double-digit rebounds in seven games this season.
– Freshman Maria Alvarez moved into third on the team in scoring after her game-high 18-point performance against Alabama State on Dec. 6 … She is currently averaging 9.8 points per game, and is also second in assists, dropping 3.4 dimes per game … She recorded a career afternoon, pouring in 20 points against VCU on Nov. 15 … Alvarez posted a 14-point effort against Idaho, on Dec. 15, with 12 of her 14 points coming in the fourth quarter on 4-for-4 shooting … She drained back-to-back threes in the last two minutes of the game to secure the win over the Vandals.
– Alvarez’s 34 three-point field goals made is first in The AAC and 34th in the nation through Dec. 28.
– Enna Pehadzic is fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 7.4 points per game on the year … Her 25 threes made are sixth in The American through Dec. 28 … She has led the team in scoring in three of the Bulls’ 13 games this season, including a 20-point effort against Jacksonville on Nov. 5.
– Tamara Henshaw, the Bulls leader in rebounding, comes into the game against Brown with 786 career rebounds, moving past Keira Rozier (1992-95) – during the Duel in the Desert in Las Vegas – for sole possession of eighth all-time in program history … She is 14 rebounds shy of becoming just the eighth player in program history to record 800 career rebounds.
SCOUTING BROWN
– Brown began its two-game Florida swing trip with a 5-6 record prior to its game at Florida International on Dec. 29 in Miami … The Bears have won two-straight games entering their game at FIU.
– Coming into the game against the Panthers, Brown has been led by Justine Gaziano, averaging 15.1 points per game … McKenna Dale is second on the team in scoring, netting 8.3 points per outing … Ashley Ducharme leads the team on the glass, grabbing 5.0 rebounds per contest.
THE SERIES AGAINST THE BEARS
– Monday’s game marks the third meeting between USF and Brown with the all-time series tied at one-apiece.
LAST TIME OUT
– USF was hoping to enter the holiday break on a winning note, however, UNLV had other ideas as the Lady Rebels handed the Bulls a 61-51 loss in the consolation game of the Duel in the Desert at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, on Dec. 21.
– The Bulls, who failed to put anyone in double figures in the scoring column, were led by Kristyna Brabencova and Shae Leverett with nine points apiece … Tamara Henshaw scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds … It marks Henshaw’s fourth time this season where she grabbed double-digit rebounds, and her fourth consecutive game of hauling down 10-or-more.
– The Bulls led at the end of the first quarter, 20-16, only to go the next 10-plus minutes – spanning the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second – without scoring a point, until Henshaw hit a short jumper with 5:40 left in the first half to make the score, 23-22, UNLV … The Bulls kept it a one possession game the rest of the half, however could not regain the lead, as they trailed the Lady Rebels at the break, 31-29.
– Both teams went basket-for-basket for most of the third quarter, until USF took a two-point lead on a layup by Brabencova with just over one-minute left in the quarter … That was the last lead that the Bulls held the rest of the way … USF looked to keep the momentum up to start the fourth quarter, only to begin the final period with another scoring drought, as UNLV scored the first nine points of the fourth to take a 55-44 lead and control of the game … The Bulls didn’t threaten the rest of the day.
HENSHAW NAMED TO DUEL IN THE DESERT ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
– Senior forward Tamara Henshaw was named to the Duel in the Desert All-Tournament Team, after her performance in the two-game tournament, Dec. 19-21.
– Despite averaging just 7.0 points per game against No. 15 Mississippi State and UNLV, Henshaw was a force on the boards grabbing 11.5 rebounds per contest, in addition to 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocked shots per outing … She pulled down 10 rebounds to go along with six points against the Bulldogs in the tournament opener, along with two steals … Against the Lady Rebels, Henshaw grabbed 13 rebounds and netted eight points.
About USF Women’s Basketball
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USF notched its eighth consecutive 19-win season and eighth straight postseason appearance in 2018-19. The Bulls celebrated two all-conference honorees in Enna Pehadzic and Sydni Harvey.
USF has made 15 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 19 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 –
