The eighth-seeded Bulls will face the ninth-seeded Golden Eagles on Friday in the opening round at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.
Click here for post NCAA Selection Show media availability (Jose Fernandez, Elena Tsineke and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu).
TAMPA (March 12, 2023) – The University of South Florida women’s basketball team learned its postseason fate for the upcoming 2023 NCAA Tournament during Sunday night’s selection show, earning one of the American Athletic Conference’s two bids to the “Big Dance.”
USF is advancing to its ninth NCAA Tournament in program history, earning the No. 8-Seed in the Greenville 1 Region, and will face ninth-seeded Marquette in the first round at the University of South Carolina’s Colonial Life Arena at Columbia, S.C. on Friday, March 17 at a time to be announced.
Click here for the NCAA Division I women’s basketball page.
Click here for an interactive and printable NCAA Tournament bracket.
The USF-Marquette winner will advance to the second round on Sunday, March 19 to face the first-round winner between the No. 1 overall seed South Carolina and 16th-seeded Norfolk State.
Friday will mark the 22nd meeting between the Bulls and the Golden Eagles – former Conference USA and BIG EAST Conference members – with Marquette holding a 17-4 series lead. The Golden Eagles lost to UConn, 81-52, on March 5, in the BIG EAST Conference championship game.
Marquette comes into the tournament with a 21-10 overall record and a 13-7 record in the BIG EAST. Included in those 21 wins are victories over Texas, 68-61, on Nov. 19 in the Bahamas and a 59-52 win over UConn on Feb. 8 in Milwaukee.
USF Notables: USF is currently 26-6 on the year and went 15-1 in American Athletic Conference play this season, winning the AAC regular-season championship for the second time in program history and the second time in the past three years.
- South Florida’s 26 wins mark the 11th time in program history – all under head coach Jose Fernandez – that the Bulls have won 20 games or more, and the eighth time in the last 11 years … In addition, their 26 wins are tied for the second most in program history, joining the 2017-18 team, and one shy of tying the program record of 27 victories set during the 2008-09 and 2014-15 seasons.
- The Bulls’ 15 conference wins are tied for the most in program history, joining the 2014-15 team that went 15-3 in The American.
- Four Bulls earned AAC postseason recognition, following a vote by the league’s head coaches. Elena Tsineke and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu were named Co-Players of the Year while also being unanimous First Team All-Conference selections, Sammie Puisis was named The American Newcomer of the Year and tabbed a Second Team All-AAC selection and Carla Brito was named to the league’s All-Freshman Team.
- American Athletic Conference Co-Player Player of the Year Elena Tsineke leads the team and The American in scoring, netting 18.0 points per game.
- Tsineke has scored in double figures in 29 of the 31 games she has played this season, including a season-high 28 points at Cincinnati on March 1 in the regular-season finale … She has scored 20-plus points in six of her last 10 games and nine of her last 17.
- Tsineke netted 22 points at No. 22/18 Texas and followed that up with a 17-point, eight-rebound performance against No. 8/10 NC State … She also posted 23 points in South Florida’s meeting with No. 17/19 Arkansas and 15 points against No. 3/4 Ohio State.
- Fellow American Athletic Conference Co-Player Player of the Year Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu is second on the team and third in the AAC in scoring, averaging 16.7 points per game … She leads the team, and The American, in rebounding, grabbing 12.3 rebounds per outing.
- Fankam Mendjiadeu is fourth in the nation in total rebounds (394), fifth in rebounds per game, fifth in defensive rebounds per game (8.5), and 18th in offensive rebounds per game (3.8) … In addition, she is fourth in the nation in double-doubles (23).
- Mendjiadeu boasts 1,520 career points (875 at USF) and 1,097 career rebounds (629 at USF) between her time at Memphis and South Florida … She is one of only 11 active players in Division I to record 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
- She recorded a 34-point, 17-rebound effort against No. 3/4 Ohio State, and followed that up with a 16-point, 12-rebound game against No. 17/19 Arkansas.
- Florida State transfer and former McDonald’s High School All-American Sammie Puisis is third on the team, and fifth in The American, in scoring averaging 15.8 points per game … Puisis leads the nation in three-point field goals made (108) and three-pointers made per game (3.38) and is second in threes attempted (276).
- She has scored 20 or more points in 11 of the Bulls’ 31 games, including a career-high 28 against Tulane and 26 points, twice, against Alabama and Wichita State.
- Puisis also poured in 20 points against No. 3/4 Ohio State … Puisis was an impressive 8-for-16 (50.0 percent) from the field, 7-for-14 (50.0 percent) from behind the three-point arc, and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line against the Buckeyes.
Joining the Bulls in the NCAA Tournament is East Carolina, the American Athletic Conference Tournament champions, which earned a 13-seed and will play Texas, seeded fourth on March 18. The winner will face the winner of No. 5-seeded Louisville and 12th-seeded Drake.
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South Florida recorded its 10th 20-win season during the 2021-22 campaign while playing in its sixth American Athletic Conference championship game in its nine years in the conference. The Bulls achieved their highest national ranking of the season when it checked in at No. 13 in the Nov. 30 Associated Press Top 25 Poll, and advanced to their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the last nine years.
USF has made 17 postseason tournament appearances and had eight NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 22 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to 10 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship, and has won over 400 career games. 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 at the conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign.
In 2021-22, the Bulls had three players recognized by The American for impressive seasons, including Elena Tsineke (All-Conference First Team), Bethy Mununga (All-Conference Second Team) and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (All-Conference Second Team).
In addition, Tsineke and Mununga were named to the American Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team.
–#GoBulls –
