Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu pours in 25 points and grabs 15 rebounds and Elena Tsineke drops in 21 points in the win.
Game Details
RV/25 USF 89, Tulsa 68
USF (19-4, 8-0 AAC), Tulsa (15-5, 5-2 AAC)
Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023 | 5 p.m. ET | ESPNU
Tulsa, Okla. | Reynolds Center
TAMPA (Jan. 25, 2023) — Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu led four players in double figures in the scoring column as the University of South Florida women’s basketball team dominated Tulsa, 89-68, on Wednesday afternoon at the Reynolds Center en route to its ninth straight win. The win improves the Bulls to 19-4 on the year and 8-0 in the American Athletic Conference. The Golden Hurricane fall to 15-5 overall and 5-2 in The American.
In addition to winning nine-straight, The Green and Gold have also won 12 of their last 14 games.
Fankam Mendjiadeu poured in a game-high 25 points and grabbed a game-best 15 rebounds, while Elena Tsineke had 21 points. Daniela Gonzalez chipped in with a career-high 12 points and Sammie Puisis had 11 points in the win.
Carla Brito, who fell just shy of scoring double figures with nine points, was second on the team in rebounds with seven.
The Bulls jumped on top of the Golden Hurricane from the opening tip, pushing the lead to 11-3 on a Brito layup less than four minutes into the contest. Tulsa, however, battled its way back cutting the South Florida advantage to three points, 23-20, at the end of the first quarter.
The Golden Hurricane took a brief two-point lead, 29-27, with 5:22 left in the first half only to have the Bulls close the second stanza on a 14-2 run to take a 41-31 lead into the locker room at the break. Tulsa never threatened again for the rest of the game.
After outscoring the Golden Hurricane, 24-18, in the third quarter to lead 65-49 entering the fourth, South Florida didn’t look back in the final 10 minutes of play on the heels of 62.5 percent (10-for-16) shooting from the field which included a 75.0 percent (3-for-4) clip from behind the three-point arc.
The Bulls had their way with Tulsa in the post outscoring the Golden Hurricane a remarkable 56-18 in the paint and taking advantage of their 17-4 margin in offensive rebounds leading to 17 second-chance points.
Notable
- Wednesday’s starters for the Bulls were: G Elena Tsineke, G Aerial Wilson, F Sammie Puisis, F Carla Brito and F Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu … South Florida is 16-4 with this lineup.
- The win over Tulsa improves the Bulls’ record against the Golden Hurricane to 11-0 in the all-time series.
- Elena Tsineke’s 21 points against Tulsa mark her 79th career double-figure scoring game in her 102nd career game with the Bulls.
- Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu’s 25 points and 15 rebounds mark her 49th career double-double and her 24th in a South Florida uniform.
- With her second assist against Tulsa, Aerial Wilson reached the 300-assist plateau … She finished with four handouts on the night.
Up Next
South Florida continues its two-game road trip when it travels to Memphis to face the Tigers on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN+), before returning to the Yuengling Center on Jan. 31 to face East Carolina at 7 p.m. (ESPN+).
Catch The Bulls on Bulls Unlimited & ESPN+
The majority of USF’s regular-season games will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform. The American Athletic Conference and ESPN began a new 12-year television rights agreement which started in 2020-21. Subscriptions for the ESPN+ app are $9.99 monthly or $99.99 annually and can be packaged with Hulu and Disney+ streaming services. A step-by-step guide for subscribing to ESPN+ is located here.
In addition, all games this season will be broadcast live on USF Bulls Unlimited, with Darek Sharp (home and away) and Brigid Merenda (for home games only) on the call. Bulls Unlimited is available via the free Tune In app (search “Bulls Unlimited’’) and provides static-free quality whether you’re listening on your streaming device, laptop or desktop.
About USF Women’s Basketball
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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 –
