Elena Tsineke’s 27 points and Sammie Puisis’ 18 points lead the Bulls to the No. 1 seed in the upcoming AAC Tourney, March 6-9, in Fort Worth.
Game Details
RV/23 South Florida 70, SMU 62
USF (24-5, 13-1 AAC), SMU (15-9, 6-6 AAC)
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023 | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
Click here for Head Coach Jose Fernandez’s press conference.
Click here for Sammie Puisis and Elena Tsineke Press conference.
Click here for the raw postgame AAC regular-season trophy celebration.
Photo credit – Mary Holt, South Florida athletics communications.
TAMPA (Feb. 18, 2023) — The University of South Florida women’s basketball team got a game-high 27 points from Elena Tsineke, 18 points from Sammie Puisis, and 12 points and 10 rebounds from Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu as the Bulls defeated SMU, 70-62, on Saturday afternoon at the Yuengling Center. South Florida improves to 24-5 on the year and 13-1 in the American Athletic Conference, while the Mustangs fall to 15-9 overall and 6-6 in league play.
With the victory, the Bulls win The American regular season title and earn the No. 1 seed in the upcoming American Athletic Conference Tournament, March 6-9, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
South Florida trailed by as many as eight points, 19-11, midway through the first quarter before using a 6-0 run, capped by a Daniela Gonzalez three-point shot, to cut the SMU lead to two points, 19-17, after 10 minutes of play.
The Mustangs looked to pull away in the second quarter, extending their lead to seven, however, the Bulls put together another run, this time a 7-0 stretch, which culminated with a Fankam Mendjiadeu three-point play to tie the game at 26-all with just under six minutes left in the half. It wasn’t until Tsineke hit a driving hook shot from inside the lane at the buzzer that South Florida regained the lead, 33-31, and never looked back the rest of the night.
The Bulls started the second half scoring 13 of the first 16 points and pushed their advantage to as many as 12 points in the third quarter, 46-34, on a Puisis layup with five minutes left, and then to as many as 18 points, 62-44, on one of Puisis’ three treys on the night with just over four minutes left in the contest.
South Florida blew the game open in the final quarter on 58.3 percent (7-of-12) shooting from the field, including 75.0 percent (3-for-4) from behind the three-point arc.
Aerial Wilson handed out eight of the Bulls’ 15 assists on the night.
Notable
- Saturday’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 22-5 with this lineup.
- The win over SMU improves the Bulls’ record against the Mustangs to 16-1 in the all-time series … The win for South Florida is the fourth straight over SMU.
- The win for the Bulls is their 14th in their last 15 games and 16th in their last 18.
- Today’s win marks just the seventh time in program history that South Florida has won at least 24 games … Along with this season, the Bulls also won 24 or more games in 2021-22 (24), 2017-18 (26), 2016-17 (24), 2015-16 (24), 2014-15 (27) and 2008-09 (27).
- In addition, the Bulls’ 13 conference wins this season is tied for the third most in program history, joining the 2017-18 and 2013-14 teams that also won 13 games in The American … South Florida won 14 games during the 2015-16 campaign and a program record 15 games during their second season in the AAC (2014-15).
- Elena Tsineke’s 27 points against SMU mark her 84th career double-figure scoring game in her 108th career game with the Bulls … Tsineke’s 20-point performance was the 27th of her career at South Florida.
- Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu’s 12 points and 10 rebounds mark her 54th career double-double and her 29th in a South Florida uniform.
Up Next
South Florida closes out its home schedule on Feb. 22 against Tulsa on Senior Night. Game time against the Golden Hurricane is slated for 7 p.m. (ESPN+).
The Bulls wrap up their regular season schedule at Cincinnati on March 1 at 7 p.m. (ESPN+), before heading to the American Athletic Conference Tournament, March 6-9, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
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
To stay up-to-date on the latest USF women’s basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
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 –
