Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu leads three players in double figures with a game-high 19 points, while Bethy Mununga and Elena Tsineke add 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Game Details
No. 16/16 South Florida 62, High Point 46
USF (8-3), High Point (3-6)
Friday, Dec. 17, 2021 | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TAMPA (AP) (Dec. 17, 2021) — Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and USF coach Jose Fernandez got his 400th career win as the No. 16 Bulls beat High Point 62-46 on Friday night.
Fernandez — who was, in November of 2000, elevated from recruiting coordinator to head coach after just months at USF — took over a moribund program that hadn’t finished better than one game over .500 since moving to Division I in 1982. After going 4-24 in his first season, Fernandez has helped the Bulls to seven NCAA Tournament bids, 16 postseason appearances in the last 17 years, and nine 20-victory seasons.
“I’ve been here a long time,” Fernandez dead-panned after the game. “I should have a lot of wins.”
The Bulls missed their first seven field-goal attempts and committed two turnovers in the first 5 minutes as High Point (3-6) scored eight of the first nine points but USF closed the first quarter on a 13-4 run to take a two-point lead. Nakyah Terrell made a layup to open the scoring in the second and make it 14-all but Bethy Mununga answered with a 3-pointer and South Florida led the rest of the way.
Mununga shot 6 of 8 from the field and finished with 16 points for USF (8-3). Elena Tsineke added 14 points and five assists and Elisa Pinzan had 10 assists to go with two points on 1-of-3 shooting.
Story courtesy of Associated Press. USF athletics communications contributed to this recap.
32 – The Bulls dominated play in the paint, scoring 32 of their 62 points in the lane, and outscoring the Panthers, 32-16.
Notable
- Wednesday’s starters for the Bulls were: G Elisa Pinzan, G Aerial Wilson, W Elena Tsineke, F Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, and F Bethy Mununga … The Bulls are 1-0 with this lineup.
- The meeting with marked the second meeting all-time between the two schools … The win improves the Bulls’ record in the series to 2-0 following their 62-46 victory.
- The win over Stetson marked USF head coach Jose Fernandez’s 399th of his career, one shy of 400 for his career … In his 22nd year as head coach of the Bulls, Fernandez’s career coaching record is 399-279.
- Elisa Pinzan’s 10 assists against High Point marked her third double-figure assist performance of the season and the fifth of her career.
Up Next
Following the meeting with High Point, South Florida will hit the road again, heading south to take part in the West Palm Beach Invitational at Keiser University in West Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 20-21. The Bulls will open the event against former BIG EAST Conference foe, West Virginia, on Dec. 20 before closing out the event against Ole Miss on Dec. 21. Both games tip-off at 1:15 p.m. and can be seen on FloHoops ($).
South Florida will close out its 2021-22 nonconference slate on Dec. 29 at the Yuengling Center against Jacksonville. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.
About USF Women’s Basketball
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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 –
