Elena Tsineke and Sydni Harvey each pour in 25 points as the Bulls win their fourth in their last five games.
Game Details
USF 99, Temple 51
USF (14-9, 6-3 in AAC), Temple (13-10, 5-5 in AAC)
Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020 | 12 p.m. | ESPNU
Tampa, Florida | Yuengling Center
TAMPA (Feb. 9, 2020) – The University of South Florida women’s basketball team turned in its most complete game of the season as the Bulls dominated Temple en route to an impressive 99-51 win over the Owls on Sunday afternoon at the Yuengling Center. The win improves USF to 14-9 on the year and 6-3 in The American, while Temple falls to 13-10 overall and 5-5 in conference play. The Bulls’ 99 points is the second-most scored by an American Athletic Conference team his season.
Elena Tsineke (Thessaloniki, Greece) poured in a career-high 25 points, with 21 points coming in the first half, and Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) tied her career best, equaling Tsineke with 25 points. Both players were on fire from the field, right from the opening tip. Tsineke was 8-for-18 from the floor, 3-for-7 from behind the arc, and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Harvey had a near perfect offensive performance shooting 7-for-10 from the field, including 7-for-8 from long range, and 4-for-4 from the line. Harvey’s seven three-point shots made marked a single-game career-high.
In what was a crucial game for USF in The American standings, the Bulls made this one a no-doubter after the first 20 minutes of play. USF jumped out to a 26-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and then started the second on a 21-0 run, taking a 58-16 lead into the locker room at the break. The Green and Gold outscored the Owls 32-8 in the second quarter. The Bulls’ 58 first half points tied for the 14th most scored in a half in program history. A big chunk of that came from the hands of Tsineke who surpassed her career-high in the first half.
USF rotated its lineup freely in the second half as all nine players that saw the court found their way into the scoring column.
The Bulls finished the game shooting season highs of 57.4 percent (35-for-61) from the field, 52 percent (13-for-25) from behind the arc, and 94.1 percent (16-for-17) from the charity stripe. USF’s free-throw percentage is tied for the sixth best in school history for a single game.
In addition to Tsineke and Harvey, Bethy Mununga (Zellik, Belgium) joined the backcourt duo in double figures with 13 points to go along with a game-high eight rebounds.
Score By Quarters
1 2 3 4 F
USF 26 32 24 17 99
Temple 8 8 23 12 51
Key Stat
58 – The Bulls put up 58 points in the first half against the Owls, including 32 in the second quarter.
21 – Included in those 58 points were 21 scored during a 21-0 run to start the second quarter.
9-of-9 – All nine of USF players that played today against Temple found their way into the scoring column, with no one scoring less than four points.
Notable
- Prior to the game, the USF women’s basketball program retired the jersey of for program great, Shantia Grace (2006-09) … Grace finished her USF career third on the Bulls’ career scoring list with 1,941 career points and first in career assists with 610 … Earlier this season she was inducted into USF’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
- Today’s starters for the Bulls were: G Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy, G Elena Tsineke, F Shae Leverett (Rincon, Ga.), W Sydni Harvey and F Bethy Mununga … The Bulls are 1-0 with this lineup.
- With its win against Temple on Sunday, USF improves to 13-3 in the all-time series against the Owls … The win also marked the Bulls’ fifth in the last six games.
- USF’s 48-point margin of victory was three points shy of a share of 18th all-time program history … It was also the largest margin of victory against Temple in the all-time series.
- USF outrebounded its opponent, 43-27, for the 22nd time in 23 games this season.
- The Bulls dished out 21 assists on the afternoon, their second most this season behind the 23 dimes dropped against Alabama State on Dec. 6.
- USF’s 13 three-point shots made against the Owls is the second most this season, and the most since making 17 against Alabama State on Dec. 6.
- With her 25 points, Sydni Harvey posted her seventh double-figure scoring game in her last nine outings, and the 25th of her collegiate career, spanning just 45 career games.
- Tamara Henshaw grabbed five rebounds against Temple and now has 850 for her career … She is currently seventh all-time in school history.
- Henshaw’s five boards marked her eighth double-figure rebounding performance of the season, and the 30th of her career.
- Henshaw played in her 124th career game on Sunday against Temple … She joins Jessica Lawson (2007-10) in ninth all-time in school history in games played, and is currently one shy of moving into seventh, joining Tiffany Conner (2009-13) and Jessica Dickson (2003-07).
- Elisa Pinzan dished out a game-high seven assists against Temple … It was her 11th career game with seven or more assists.
Up Next
Following their game against Temple, USF will hit the road and head to the “Big Easy” to face Tulane on Feb. 13 (ESPN3). Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. ET. The Bulls return to the Yuengling Center on Feb. 16, when they welcome No. 4 UConn (ESPN3/SNY) for its final time as a member of The American. Game time is at 2 p.m. Get your tickets at USFBullsTix.com.
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).
USF notched its eighth consecutive 19-win season and eighth straight postseason appearance in 2018-19. The Bulls celebrated two all-conference honorees in Enna Pehadzic and Sydni Harvey.
USF has made 15 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 19 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to nine 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 350 games.
– #GoBulls –
