Elena Tsineke and Elisa Pinzan led the way for the Bulls with 21 and 19 points, respectively.
Game Details
(8) No. RV/- Miami (Fla.) 78, -/RV (9) South Florida 66
USF (24-9), Miami (Fla.) (21-12)
Friday, March 18, 2022 | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN2
2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament First Round | Greensboro Regional
Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena
By Joey Johnston
COLUMBIA, S.C. (March 18, 2022) — One-and-done. It wasn’t what the USF Bulls had in mind for their season’s final chapter. But there were no answers for the torrid-shooting No. 8-seeded Miami Hurricanes, who eliminated the No. 9 Bulls 78-66 in Saturday afternoon’s NCAA Tournament first-round game at Columbia, S.C.
“It’s definitely not how you want it to end,’’ USF coach Jose Fernandez said. “We were very inconsistent and it showed.’’
The Bulls (24-9) trailed 24-11 after the first quarter and fell behind by 19 points in the second quarter, but went on a 10-2 run, capped by Sydni Harvey’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer, to cut UM’s advantage to 11 at halftime. USF twice cut it an eight-point game early in the third quarter, but the Hurricanes (21-12) went on a 15-4 run that extended the margin and thwarted the Bulls’ hopes.
UM’s 61.3-percent shooting performance in the first half was too difficult to overcome for Fernandez’s Bulls. But the backcourt of Elena Tsineke (21 points, including 19 in the first half), Elisa Pinzan (19 points, eight in the fourth quarter) and Harvey (11 points) kept the Bulls alive. Overall, USF was 9-for-22 from 3-point range.
The Bulls twice cut it to a nine-point margin in the fourth quarter on a pair of runners by Pinzan, but UM was undaunted and never let it get closer.
“We won two quarters and another quarter was two points (margin),’’ Fernandez said. “But they shot the ball extremely well. Uncharateristic for us, we didn’t defend well. Give them credit. NCAA Tournament, they showed up more. We needed more guys to show up.’’
USF’s interior players, Bethy Mununga and Darcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, each had six points and eight rebounds.
It was USF’s seventh NCAA Tournament bid in the past nine seasons (not counting the COVID-cancelled event in 2020). After returning all significant players from last season’s 19-4 American Athletic Conference champion squad — then defeating two top 10-ranked teams (including defending national champion Stanford) in November — the Bulls seemed positioned to win another title and perhaps get into the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend for the first time in program history.
But the Bulls were swept by UCF during the regular season and lost against the Knights in the AAC Championship Game. Because of its strength of schedule, USF still earned a No. 9 NCAA seed, but drew a fast-finishing Miami squad that pulled a series of upsets and reached the program’s first ACC Tournament Championship Game.
Had USF prevailed, it would have faced a monumental challenge on Sunday — facing top-ranked South Carolina, the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed, on its home court with a Sweet 16 berth on the line.
The Bulls couldn’t get that far. They were hampered by UM’s height and depth (five players in double figures, 29 bench points, while USF essentially used a six-player rotation). The Hurricanes finished with 53.6-percent shooting.
In a season that seemed like it had one step forward and one step back, USF’s NCAA road ended right where it began — in the first round.
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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.
The Bulls had three players, during the 2021-22 campaign, 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 –
