USF will be represented well with five Bulls competing in the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship.
Incoming freshman guard Maria Alvarez will play for Colombia’s senior national team at the 2019 Pan American Games.
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, AUG. 2, 2019 – Before team preparation for the 2019-20 season begins, six Bulls will showcase their talent on the world stage at the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship and 2019 Women’s Pan American Games.
“It’s great that our players have been training at the highest level this summer with their respective countries and national teams,” head coach Jose Fernandez said. “This is the final piece to all the hard work that all of them have been putting in all summer.”
USF will be represented well in the Klatovy, Czech Republic at the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship with five Bulls competing for five different countries – freshman wing Kristyna Brabencova (Czech Republic), sophomore center Beatriz Jordao (Portugal), sophomore point guard Elisa Pinzan (Italy), sophomore wing Luize Septe (Latvia) and freshman guard Elena Tsineke (Greece). Action begins Saturday and the championship is set for Sunday, Aug. 11. View the tournament schedule HERE.
“They’ve been talking about it all during the season that they were going to meet up,” said Fernandez, who will be attending the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship. “It’s really neat.”
Meanwhile, freshman guard Maria Alvarez will have the honor of playing for the Colombia senior national team at the 2019 Pan American Games that take place Tuesday, Aug. 6 through Saturday, Aug. 10 in Lima, Peru. It’s been a busy stretch of basketball for Alvarez, who averaged 12 points, 4.4 rebounds and a team-best 3.1 assists in seven games for Colombia at the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup July 20-28 in Thailand.
Alvarez and Colombia begin their tournament run with a preliminary round test against the U.S. Virgin Islands on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. (EST). View the complete schedule HERE.
“She played last year in the U17 World Cup in Minsk, Belarus and now she just finished the U19 in Bangkok, Thailand,” Fernandez said. “She goes home for a little bit and now he’s flying out to play on the world stage on the senior national level team. That’s a great accomplishment.”
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USF notched its eighth consecutive 19-win season and eighth straight postseason appearance in 2018-19. The Bulls celebrated two all-conference honorees in Enna Pehadzic and Sydni Harvey.
USF has made 15 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 19 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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