Bethy Mununga scores 10 points and grabs 20 rebounds against the Owls.
Game Details
No. 13/13 USF 56, Temple 47
USF (14-1, *12-0 AAC), Temple (9-9, 9-6 AAC)
Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021 | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Philadelphia, Pa. | Pearson & McGonigle Hall
* The American has declared a forfeit win for USF against Memphis for conference-standings purposes only as a result of the scheduled game from Jan. 17 that was not played. The teams’ overall records are not affected.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) (Feb. 24, 2021) — Bethy Mununga scored 10 points and grabbed 20 rebounds and the No. 13 USF women’s basketball team beat Temple 56-47 on Wednesday to extend a program record with 13 straight victories.
USF pulled away in the fourth quarter, opening on a 17-2 run — with scoring from five different players. Temple made just 3 of 14 field goals in the final 10 minutes.
The other four starters for South Florida (14-1, 11-0 American) each scored nine points.
Shae Leverett also had nine rebounds and Elisa Pinzan had six assists. Pinzan made all six of her free throws and Sydni Harvey was perfect on five as USF made 19 of 23.
Mia Davis and Jasha Clinton combined for 43 points for Temple (9-9, 9-6 American). Davis had 23 points and nine rebounds, and Clinton made four 3-pointers. The duo shot 15 for 42 from the field.
The rest of Temple was 2 of 15, both those baskets by Alexa Williamson, the only other player to score for the Owls.
Wednesday marked Mununga’s second 20-rebound game of the season. She also accomplished the feat with a career-high 21 rebounds against East Carolina on Jan. 2. Mununga is one of just four players in the nation to grab 20 or more rebounds in more than one game.
USF athletics communications contributed to this story.
Quotable
“We’re definitely not playing our best right now and at this time of the year, this is that time, heading into the postseason, where you want to be doing that. We found a way to get some crucial stops in that fourth quarter and some very good possessions offensively. I have to give Temple’s staff and players a lot of credit for today’s effort.” – USF head coach Jose Fernandez
Key Stats
21-7 – Neither team shot the lights out on Wednesday afternoon – USF hit just 28.3 percent of its shots and Temple just 29.8 percent from the field – however when it counted most, the Bulls shot 50 percent from the field in the fourth quarter which led to outscoring the Owls 21-7 in the final 10 minutes of play.
Notable
- USF’s win over Temple improves the Bulls’ record in the all-time series to 14-3, including a 6-2 mark in games played in Philadelphia.
- The Bulls’ 14-1 record marks the best start in program history, surpassing the 13-1 record that they posted to start the 2016-17 (13-1) and 2008-09 (13-1) campaigns.
- USF’s win over the Owls marked its 13th-straight victory extending its program record for consecutive wins … Coming into the afternoon, the Bulls had the seventh-longest winning streak in America.
- USF’s win over Temple also marks its 12th straight conference victory, also a new program record for consecutive conference wins.
- Bethy Mununga’s 10 points and 20 rebounds against Temple marked her 18th career double-double and the ninth of the season.
- Mununga’s 20 boards against the Owls is also the 29th double-figure rebounding performance in the Green and Gold.
- Shae Leverett fell one-point and one-rebound shy of her eighth career double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
- Shae Leverett continues to move up the school’s career blocked shot and rebounding charts this season … With her one rejection against Temple, Leverett currently has 97 blocks for her career and sits in sole possession of seventh place, just eight blocks from equaling Keira Rozier (1992-95) in sixth with 105 … Her nine rebounds give her 625 for her career, good enough for 15th in program history and five rebounds shy of equaling Kristi Poore (1990-93) in 14th with 620.
Up Next
The Bulls will stay on the road as they travel to the Lone Star state where they will take on Houston on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN+). USF ends the regular season with back-to-back War on I-4 tilts against UCF on March 2 (5:30 p.m., ESPN+) in the Yuengling Center, and then two nights later in Orlando on March 4 (6 p.m., ESPNU).
About USF Women’s Basketball
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USF notched its ninth consecutive 19-win season and was poised for its ninth straight postseason appearance in 2019-20 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the end of the college basketball season. The Bulls celebrated two all-conference honorees in Elena Tsineke and Elisa Pinzan. Tsineke was named the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, in addition to The American All-Freshman Team and Third Team All-Conference; while Pinzan was named a Third Team All-Conference selection.
USF has made 15 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 20 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 –
