No. 15 USF Wins First-Ever AAC Regular Season Crown

Elisa Pinzan leads three players in double-digits with 18 points; Elena Tsineke has 12 points and Bethy Mununga 11 points and 13 boards.

Game Details

No. 15 South Florida 65, UCF 62

South Florida (15-2, *13-1 AAC), UCF (13-3, 11-2 AAC)

Tuesday, March 2, 2021 | 5:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+

Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center

* 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.

TAMPA (AP) (March 2, 2021) — Elisa Pinzan scored 18 points with eight assists, Bethy Mununga had 11 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 15 South Florida beat UCF 65-62 on Tuesday night for its first American Athletic Conference regular-season title.

Pinzan sank a 3-pointer for a 58-48 lead with 1:59 remaining and she made her next four free throws for another 10-point lead with 57 seconds left.

UCF’s Alisha Lewis made two 3-pointers in the final 2:15, the last to get within 63-62 with 1.6 seconds left. Pinzan was fouled and she made two free throws before a heave at the buzzer was off the mark.

Elena Tsineke added 12 points for South Florida (15-2, 12-1). Shae Leverett grabbed 11 rebounds.

USF had runs of 11-0 and 7-0 in the first quarter to build an 18-5 lead. Another 13-3 spurt in the second quarter extended the Bulls’ lead to 22 points.

Lewis scored 27 points with six 3-pointers for UCF (13-3, 11-2). Brittney Smith had 10 points and nine rebounds.

The teams are scheduled to face each other again on Thursday to conclude the regular season.

USF athletics communications contributed to this story.

Notable

  • South Florida’s win over UCF improves the Bulls’ record against the Knights to 29-13 all-time, and snaps a four-game losing streak in the War on I-4 … USF has also won 23 of the last 28 games against UCF.
  • The Bulls’ 15-2 record ties the best 17-game start in program history, equaling the 2016-17 team … With one game remaining in the regular season, the best 18-game start, to date, in program history came during the 2016-17 campaign with a 15-3 record.  
  • Elisa Pinzan paced the team in the scoring column for a team-high sixth time this season with her 18 points against the Knights.    
  • Bethy Mununga’s 11 points and 13 rebounds marked her 19th career double-double and her10 of the season.
  • On her seventh rebound of the night, Mununga recorded her 500th career board for the Bulls.
  • Shae Leverett blocked three shots against UCF on Tuesday night, giving her 100 for her career … She is just the seventh player in program history to reach the 100 blocked shot plateau.

Up Next
USF closes out the regular season on Thursday, March 4 at 5 p.m. when it travels east on Interstate 4 to Orlando to face UCF at Addition Financial Arena. The game can be seen live nationally on ESPNU.

Following the regular season, the Bulls will head back to the Lone Star State for the 2021 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, March 8-11.

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.

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