Alvarez and Mununga netted career highs of 20 points and 14 points, respectively, while helping the Bulls to their fourth straight win.
Game Details
25/RV USF 77, VCU 55
USF (4-0), VCU (1-2)
Friday, Nov. 15, 2019 | 11 a.m.
Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TAMPA (Nov. 15, 2019) – The No. 25 University of South Florida women’s basketball team got a career-high 20 points from freshman guard Maria Alvarez (Miami, Fla.) and a career-best 14 points from Bethy Mununga (Zellik, Belgium) as the Bulls won their fourth straight game, 77-55, against VCU at the Yuengling Center on Friday afternoon. The win improved USF to 4-0 to start the season, while the Rams fell to 1-2 on the year.
Alvarez and Mununga were two of four players to find themselves in double figures in the scoring column. Joining the duo were Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy) with 13 points, and Enna Pehadzic (Horsens, Denmark) with 10 points. In addition, Mununga also grabbed a career-high tying 12 rebounds for her second-straight double-double and her third of the season, and Pinzan equaled her career-high with eight assists.
With the Bulls leading, 19-12, at the beginning of the second quarter, VCU went go on a 10-0 run to take a 22-19 lead with just under six minutes left in the half. USF, not fazed by the margin, eventually put its own 16-2 run together – spearheaded by two Alvarez treys – to open the game up and close out the first half, taking a 37-26 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Bulls came out in the second stanza and scored the first five points, taking a 16-point advantage, 42-26, on a driving layup by Alvarez with just over nine minutes left in the quarter. USF never looked back from that point on, extending its lead to as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter.
USF dominated the glass, outrebounding the Rams, 41-27, including a 20-6 margin on the offensive boards. Those 20 offensive rebounds served the Bulls well, leading to 22 second-chance points. In addition, USF forced VCU into 17 turnovers, leading to 23 points.
Score By Quarters
1 2 3 4 F
USF 17 20 20 20 77
VCU 12 14 11 18 55
Key Stats
10 – USF recorded a season-high 10 steals on the day, its most in a game since Jan. 5, 2019, when the Bulls had 10 thefts against Temple.
20-3 – USF held a 20-3 offensive rebounds advantage against the Rams, leading to 22 second-chance points.
55.6 – USF shot a season-high 55.6 percent (10-for-18) from behind the three-point arc.
Notable
- The win improved USF to 5-13 all-time in the series against the Rams, and snapped a three-game losing streak against VCU.
- The Bulls begin the season 4-0 for the fourth straight year.
- The No. 25 Bulls played their second game in the Top 25 since the Nov. 20, 2018 Associated Press (AP) and USA Today/WBCA Coaches polls when they were slotted at No. 17 in both … USF returned to the Top 25 this week, at No. 25, after defeating No. 15/15 Texas last week, 64-57 … The Green and Gold received nine points in the AP and five the Coaches poll.
- With the win over the Rams, USF now boasts a dominating 65-13 record at the Yuengling Center since the 2014-15 season … In addition, over the last five-plus seasons, the Bulls have posted a 33-2 record in nonconference games at home.
Up Next
USF hits the road for the first time during the 2019-20 season when it travels to the Lone Star State to face defending national champion and second-ranked Baylor on Nov. 19 … Tip-off in Waco is 8 p.m. ET with the game airing on ESPN+ … The Green and Gold return to the Yuengling Center on Nov. 24 when they take on Saint Francis (Pa.) … Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.
Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.
– #GoBulls –
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.
