Sammie Puisis points in 23 points and Carla Brito adds 20 points in the win; Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu chips in with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Game Details
No. 25/22 USF 72, East Carolina 48
USF (21-4, 10-0 AAC), East Carolina (14-8, 5-4 AAC)
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2023 | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
Postgame Press Conference: Jose Fernandez | Sammie Puisis & Carla Brito
South Florida Athletics Communications contributed to this recap.
TAMPA (Jan. 31, 2023) (AP) — Sammie Puisis made a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points, Carla Brito added 20 points and seven rebounds and No. 25 South Florida beat East Carolina 72-48 on Tuesday night at the Yuengling Center for its 11th straight victory.
USF coach Jose Fernandez recorded his 118th victory in American Athletic Conference play, tying UConn coach Geno Auriemma for the most in league history and one shy of becoming the all-time leader.
Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had 13 points and 14 rebounds for South Florida (21-4, 10-0), which has reached 20 wins 11 times in program history. Elena Tsineke, USF’s leading scorer at 17.6 points per game, was held to six points on 3-of-10 shooting, however, dished out a game-high six assists just one shy of her career-high.
Puisis was 7 of 14 from 3-point range and ECU was just 1 of 12. Puisis made three 3-pointers in the first quarter as USF – who has led wire-to-wire in three of the last four games, including the last two straight – built a 19-6 lead and the Bulls closed the third quarter on a 13-4 run to go ahead by double-figures for the rest of the game. Amiya Joyner had 13 points and 13 rebounds for East Carolina (14-8, 5-4). Danae McNeal added 10 points. ECU shot just 31% from the field.
In addition to winning its 11th straight, South Florida moves to 12-0 at home this season and extends their home winning streak to 15 games dating back to last year, a streak that was tied for the seventh longest in the nation coming into Tuesday’s game.
Notable
- Tuesday’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 19-4 with this lineup.
- The win over East Carolina improves the Bulls’ record against the Pirates to 13-7 in the all-time series … The win for South Florida is the 11th straight over ECU and the 12th in the last 13 games.
- The Bulls’ win over the Pirates marks the 11th straight of the season, the second longest in program history, and just three shy of tying the current record of the 13-straight set during the 2020-21 season.
- In addition, South Florida extended its program-record conference regular season winning streak to 15 games dating back to last season.
- Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu’s 13 points and 14 rebounds mark her 51st career double-double and her 26th in a South Florida uniform.
Up Next
Following Tuesday’s game, the Bulls will head to Dallas to face SMU on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN+) before returning to the Yuengling Center to face Houston on Feb. 12 (2 p.m. ESPN2).
The game against Houston will start a three-game in a five-game stretch for South Florida that will be played on its home floor to end the regular season. The stretch includes games at Central Florida (Feb. 15, 7 p.m. ESPN+), against SMU (Feb. 18, 5 p.m. ESPN+), Tulsa (Feb. 22, 7 p.m. ESPN+) and at Cincinnati (March 1, 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 –
