Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu and Elena Tsineke pace the way for the Bulls with 17 and 16 points, respectively.
Bulls record the eighth-largest home crowd in program history.
Game Details
-/RV USF 77, Marshall 68
USF (9-3), Marshall (5-4)
Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022 | 11 a.m. | ESPN+
Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TAMPA (Dec. 14, 2022) — The University of South Florida women’s basketball team got 17 points from Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu and 16 points from Elena Tsineke as the Bulls defeated Marshall, 77-68, on Wednesday morning in front of 5,573 fans at the Yuengling Center. The Monday morning contest was part of South Florida’s annual Education Day that welcomed nearly 4,500 Hillsborough County elementary and middle school students, teachers and chaperones.
The win improved the Bulls to 9-3 on the year while the Thundering Herd fall to 5-4.
South Florida shot a season-best 73.3 percent (11-for-15) from the field in the first quarter and used a 13-0 run to take a 25-14 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
The Bulls extended their lead to as many as 12 points in the second quarter, 27-15, on a layup by Fankam Mendjiadeu, just over 30 seconds into the stanza, and then with just over seven minutes left before the break, 32-20, when Maria Alvarez hit her first field goal of the season – a three-pointer – in her first game back from a season-ending knee injury suffered last year. Alvarez finished the game with nine points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field, all coming from behind the arc, and two assists.
After trailing 45-39 at the half, Marshall scored the first seven points of the third quarter to take a one-point 46-45 lead with just over six minutes left in the quarter. South Florida, however, re-grouped and got the lead back to double-digits on a driving layup by Tsineke with just under three minutes left in the quarter. The Bulls did not look back as they extended their lead to as many as 18 points, 74-56, in the fourth quarter on a Carla Brito layup with 3:35 left in the contest.
Notable
- Wednesday’s starters for the Bulls were: G Elena Tsineke, G Aerial Wilson, G Sammie Puisis, F Carla Brito and F Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu … The Bulls are 8-3 with this lineup.
- South Florida’s win over Marshall is its first against the Thundering Herd in the series … The series is tied at 1-1.
- Wednesday’s attendance of 5,573 is the eighth-largest home attendance in program history.
- Elena Tsineke’s 16 points against Marshall mark her 68th career double-figure scoring game in her 91st career game with the Bulls.
- Tsineke also had seven assists tying a career-high.
- Maria Alvarez saw her first action of the 2022-23 season on Wednesday against Marshall … Alvarez suffered a season-ending knee injury in the 2021-22 regular-season finale against Houston on March 2.
- Priscilla Williams scored a season-high eight points for the Bulls in the win.
- Daniela Gonzalez grabbed a career-high eight rebounds to lead the Bulls on the boards for the first time in her career.
Up Next
The Bulls will end their nonconference home schedule on Saturday against La Salle. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. South Florida closes out the nonconference portion of its schedule when they head to the West Coast for the San Diego Invitational, Dec. 20-21, at San Diego City College. The Bulls open the two-game event against current No. 3/4 Ohio State on day one at 6:30 p.m. ET, and then either No. 16/15 Oregon or 21/22 Arkansas on day two.
South Florida begins American Athletic Conference play following the holiday break when it travels to New Orleans to face Tulane on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+), and then returns to the Yuengling Center on Jan. 3 to take on Temple at 5 p.m. (ESPNU).
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 $6.99 monthly or $69.99 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 –
