Sydni Harvey pours in 21 points while leading three players in double figures; Bethy Mununga nets 13 points, grabs 14 rebounds.
Game Details
No. 20/22 USF 73, Cincinnati 61
USF (5-1, 2-0 AAC), Cincinnati (1-5, 0-2 AAC)
Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020 | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Cincinnati, Ohio | Fifth Third Arena
CINCINNATI (Dec. 22, 2020) — The No. 20/22-ranked University of South Florida women’s basketball team got a season high 21 points from Sydni Harvey, who led three players in double figures in the scoring column, as the Bulls won their fourth straight game, 73-61, at Cincinnati on Tuesday afternoon.
USF improved to 5-1 on the year and 2-0 in the American Athletic Conference, while the Bearcats fell to 1-5 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Harvey, a guard from Nashville, Tenn., was joined in double figures by Bethy Mununga (Zellik, Belgium) with 13 points and Kristyna Brabencova (Brno, Czech Republic) with 10 points. In addition to Mununga’s 13 points, which tied her season high, the senior forward also grabbed a game high 14 rebounds for her 22nd career double-figure rebounding game, and her 12th career double-double.
Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy) dished out a career high 11 assists in the win, tied for the 11th most in a single game in program history.
The Bulls led by as many as 16 points in the first quarter, 26-10, and used an 11-1 run to close out the first 10 minutes of the contest. The Bearcats, however, started the second quarter by scoring 10 of the first 12 points, eventually cutting the USF lead to one point. The Bulls regrouped and took a 33-29 lead into the locker room at the break.
Cincinnati found its way over the hump, taking its first lead of the game with 3:59 left in the third quarter, 44-43. That lead for the Bearcats lasted only 40 seconds before the Bulls regained control and never let Cincinnati get back on top.
Cincinnati tied the score twice in the final quarter, with the latter coming at 55-all with just under seven minutes left in the game. USF, however, closed the game with an 18-5 run to put the contest out of reach and secure the victory.
Quotable
“I thought we played well coming out of the gate in that first quarter, and we played 11 (players) in the first 10 minutes. The last minute of that quarter, however, with a foul and turnover was not good; we can’t do that. We have to give credit to Cincinnati, and their energy, on how they played. We just cannot put ourselves in a position, shooting that poorly from the free-throw line and expect to win many games. But now we have another eight day stretch before our next game at Tulsa on Dec. 30, and that’s coming off a seven-day layoff heading into today’s game.” – USF head coach Jose Fernandez
Key Stat
24-4 – USF took advantage of its depth against the Bearcats, going 11-deep on its roster again. That depth led to a commanding 24-4 advantage in bench points, with 18 of the 24 coming from Brabencova’s 10 points and Maria Alvarez (Bal Harbour, Fla.), who dropped in eight.
Notable
- Tuesday’s starters for the Bulls were: G Elisa Pinzan, G Elena Tsineke (Thessaloniki, Greece), G Sydni Harvey, F Shae Leverett (Rincon, Ga.), and F Bethy Mununga … The Bulls are 5-1 with this lineup.
- The win over Cincinnati improved USF’s record in the all-time series to 20-17 … USF has won 13 of the last 16 games, and is 18-7 in the last 25 meetings against the Bearcats … In addition, the Bulls evened the all-time series in Cincinnati at 8-8
- Tereza Vitulova (Domasov, Czech Republic) played in her first game for the Bulls after transferring from Wyoming … Vitulova became eligible due to the One-Time Blanket Transfer Waiver from the NCAA … Vitulova finished the game with four points and one rebound in just over eight minutes of action.
- Bethy Mununga’s season high 14 rebounds marked her 22nd career double-figure rebounding game wearing the Green and Gold, and her sixth of the season … In addition, it is her 13th double-figure rebounding performance in the last 15 outings dating back to last season.
- Shae Leverett continues to move up the school’s career blocked shot and rebounding charts … Against Cincinnati, Leverett swatted one shot, bringing her to 88 for her career … She is now just five rejections shy of equaling Courtney Williams (2012-16) in seventh place on the school’s career list with 93 … In addition, Leverett’s six rebounds against the Bearcats gave her 557, 18th on USF’s career rebounding list.
Up Next
Following Tuesday’s game at Cincinnati, the Bulls close out the calendar year at Tulsa on Wednesday, Dec. 30 (7 p.m., ESPN+). USF returns to the Yuengling Center for back-to-back home games, beginning with East Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 4 p.m. (ESPN+). The Bulls will close out the short two-game home stretch on Wednesday, Jan. 5 when they play host to Wichita State at 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
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 –
