Bulls look to keep up the intensity and winning ways when it faces the Lady Mavs.
TAMPA (Dec. 1, 2021) – The University of South Florida women’s basketball team heads back on the road looking for its third straight win, and its fourth win in its last five games when the Bulls travel to the Lone Star state to face UT Arlington on Thursday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET with the game being broadcast on ESPN+.
South Florida, ranked 13th in this week’s Associated Press top-25 poll and 17th in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches poll, is looking to keep up its same intensity that guided them to a 3-1 record on its recent trip to the Bahamas. That trip produced wins over Syracuse (77-53) on Nov. 20, on day one of the Battle 4 Atlantis, and No. 9/9 Oregon (71-62) in the third-place game, and a thrilling 57-54 win over No. 7/5-ranked, and defending national champion, Stanford in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship on Nov. 26.
Sydni Harvey, the reigning American Athletic Conference Player of the Week, leads two players in double-digits in the scoring column, netting 14.9 points per game which is also good enough for a share of fifth in the conference. Elena Tsineke is also averaging double digits, scoring 13.8 points per game.
Bethy Mununga continues to dominate the glass, grabbing 12.1 rebounds per game, tops in the conference and seventh in the nation. Her career-high 23 rebounds against Stanford is tied for the most in the nation this season.
Can’t make it out to catch the Bulls? Most USF games will be aired live on ESPN+. Subscriptions for the ESPN+ app are $6.99 monthly or $69.99 annually and can be packaged with Hulu and Disney+ streaming services. A step-by-step guide for subscribing to ESPN+ is located here.
GAME EIGHT | THUR., DEC. 2 | 7 P.M. ET | COLLEGE PARK CENTER | ARLINGTON, TEXAS
GAME DAY INFORMATION
TV/Online: ESPN+ ($)
Ron Thulin (PxP), Fred Williams (Color)
Audio: Bulls Unlimited (iHeartRadio/GoUSFBulls.com)
Darek Sharp (PxP)
Live Stats: GoUSFBulls.com/StatBroadcast
Series: USF leads series, 2-1
Twitter Updates: @USFWBB
Tickets: UTATickets.com
No. 13/17 USF BULLS | 5-2
Last Game: Nov. 26 vs. No. 7/5 Stanford, W, 57-54
Next Game: Dec. 12 at VCU, 1 p.m.
Head Coach: Jose Fernandez
Alma Mater: FIU, 1994
Career Record: 397-278 (22nd season)
at USF: Same
UT ARLINGTON LADY MAVS | 4-2
Last Game: Nov. 28 vs. Kansas City, L, 85-76
Next Game: Dec. 4 vs. Rice, 2 p.m.
Head Coach: Shereka Wright
Alma Mater: Purdue, 2004
Career Record: 17-9 (Second season)
at UT Arlington: Same
QUICK HITS
– Thursday is the sixth of seven-straight road contests for USF, a stretch that started on Nov. 15 at No. 15 Tennessee and ends in Richmond at VCU on Dec. 12 (1 p.m.) … The Bulls are 3-2 during the stretch.
– USF is coming off a 57-54 win over No. 7/5 Stanford on Nov. 26 … The win was the Bulls’ second-straight top 10 win … Sydni Harvey had 15 points and Elena Tsineke and Elisa Pinzan had 14 and 11, respectively … Bethy Mununga had 23 rebounds.
– South Florida is currently ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, jumping five spots from the previous week … In addition, they are No. 17 in the most recent Coaches Poll, up three spots from their No. 20 preseason ranking.
SCOUTING UT ARLINGTON
– UT Arlington comes into Thursday’s game with a 4-2 record and winners of four of its last five … The Lady Mavs’ two losses came to No. 7/8 Baylor, 81-54, in the season opener on Nov. 11, and in their last outing, 85-76, to Kansas City on Nov. 28 in Las Vegas, snapping their four-game winning streak.
– Starr Jacobs leads three players in double figures in the scoring column for the Lady Mavs, averaging 21.3 points per game, followed by Terrryn Milton and De’Sha Benjamin, netting 12.8 and 11.0 points per game, respectively … Katie Ferrell paces the team on the glass, grabbing 5.7 rebounds per outing.
THE SERIES AGAINST THE LADY MAVS
– Friday’s game against UT Arlington marks the fourth meeting all-time between the two schools, and the first since the 2005-06 campaign … The Bulls hold a 2-1 series lead with the only loss coming in Arlington, Texas.
UP NEXT FOR USF
– The Bulls close out their seven-game road stretch at defending Atlantic 10 champion VCU on Dec. 12 at 1 p.m.
– South Florida will finally return home to the Yuengling Center, for two straight, beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 15 against in-state foe Stetson for Education Day, with tip-off at 11 a.m. … The Bulls will close out the short home short two-game stretch on Dec. 17 against High Point at 7 p.m.
About USF Women’s Basketball
To stay up-to-date on the latest USF women’s basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
USF recorded its best season in program history during the 2020-21 campaign, all while navigating the unpredictable COVID-19 landscape. In doing so, the Bulls won their first-ever American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and posted their highest ranking in the Associated Press Top25 poll – reaching as high as No. 12 – and made their ninth straight postseason appearance, and sixth NCAA appearance in the last 10 years.
USF has made 16 postseason tournament appearances and had seven NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 21 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 nearly 400 career games. For his efforts on the sideline during the 2020-21 season, 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.
The Bulls posted a 19-4 record and had five players, during the 2020-21 campaign, the Bulls had five players recognized by The American for impressive seasons, including Elisa Pinzan (Most Improved Player, All-Conference Second Team), Maria Alvarez (Co-Sixth Player of the Year), Bethy Mununga (All-Conference First Team), Elena Tsineke (All-Conference First Team), and Sydni Harvey (All-Conference Third Team).
In addition, Harvey was named the American Athletic Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player and to the All-Tournament Team, while Mununga and Tsineke were also All-Tournament selections.
–#GoBulls –
