USF and UCF entered the week in a three-way tie for second in The American standings.
TAMPA (Feb. 18, 2020) – USF hits the road for the first of two straight games away from the Yuengling Center, beginning on Wednesday night against UCF in the second edition of the War on I-4. Game time at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando is slated for 6 p.m. (ESPN3). Despite the Bulls’ loss to No. 5/6 UConn on Feb. 16 in Tampa, they enter the game with the Knights having won five of their last seven and eight of their last 11.
GAME 26 | FEB. 19, 2020 | 6 P.M. | ORLANDO, FLA. | ADDITION FINANCIAL ARENA
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV/Video: ESPN3
Despina McLaughlin (PxP), Holly Warlick (Analyst)
Audio: Bulls Unlimited (iHeartRadio/GoUSFBulls.com)
Darek Sharp (PxP), Brigid Merenda (Analyst)
Live Stats: GoUSFBulls.com
Series: USF leads, 28-12
Twitter Updates: @USFWBB
Tickets: UCF Athletics Ticket Office (407) 823-1000
USF BULLS | 15-10 (7-4, AAC)
Last Game: Feb. 16 vs. No. 5/6 UConn, L, 67-47
Next Game: Feb. 22 at Memphis, 5 p.m.
Head Coach: Jose Fernandez
Alma Mater: FIU, 1994
Career Record: 369-269 (20th season)
at USF: Same
UCF KNIGHTS | 15-8 (7-4, AAC)
Last Game: Feb. 15 vs. Cincinnati, W, 49-42
Next Game: Feb. 22 at UConn, 1 p.m.
Head Coach: Katie Abrahamson-Henderson
Alma Mater: Iowa, 1990
Career Record: 325-146 (14th season)
at UCF: 84-38 (Fourth season)
QUICK HITS
– Wednesday’s game is the second of three games that the Bulls will play on the road over a four-game stretch which began at Tulane on Feb. 13 … The lone home game was against No. 5/6 UConn on Feb. 16.
– USF dropped a 67-47 loss to No. 5/6 UConn on Feb. 16 in Tampa … The Bulls led at the half against the Huskies for the second straight game … Elisa Pinzan had a team-high 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Bethy Mununga had 10 rebounds.
– USF has three players – Elena Tsineke (12.4), Sydni Harvey (11.3) and Elisa Pinzan (10.0) – averaging double-figure points, and three others netting 7.6 points per game or better on the year.
TICKET & PROMOTION INFORMATION
– For ticket questions or to purchase tickets, please visit USFBullsTix.com or call 1-800-Go-Bulls … USF single-game tickets are available; however; courtside seats are sold out for the 2019-20 season.
UP NEXT FOR USF
– Following UCF, USF will travel to Memphis to face the Tigers on Saturday at 5 p.m. (ESPN3).
– The Bulls will close out the month of February at home against East Carolina on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. (ADN) and then SMU on Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. (BullsVision).
– USF closes out the regular season on March 2 at 7 p.m., when it travels to Hartford to face UConn at the XL Center. The game can be seen live on ESPN2 as part of Big Monday.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE BULLS
– In just 20 collegiate games, Elena Tsineke has made her presence felt for the Bulls after being cleared to play by the NCAA … Tsineke missed the first five games of the season after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA … Tsineke leads the team in scoring, averaging 12.4 points per game … She has scored double figures in 13 of the 19 games she has played in, including career-high 25 points against Temple on Feb. 9, and two 20-point efforts, at Temple on Jan. 16 and against Houston on Jan. 29 … Tsineke was 8-for-18 (44.4 percent) from the field, including 3-for-7 (42.9 percent) from behind the arc, and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line against the Owls … She also netted 19 points, twice, against Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 29 in the Cancun Challenge and against Cincinnati in The American opener on Jan. 5 … She is shooting 39.7 percent (85-for-214) from the field, including 33.3 percent (32-for-96) from behind the arc, and 88.5 percent (46-for-52) from the free-throw line.
– Bethy Mununga comes into Wednesday’s game averaging just shy of a double-double in the 22 games she has played this season … She missed three games – Idaho, Mississippi State and UNLV – with a hamstring injury … Her 9.9 points per game and 9.9 rebounds per outing are fourth and first on the team, respectively, and her rebounds per game average is second in The American through Feb. 16 … She has scored in double figures in 12 of the 22 games she has played in, including career highs of 16 points at Baylor (Nov. 19), against Brown (Dec. 30) and Cincinnati (Jan. 3) … She’s shooting 50.8 percent (90-for-177) from the field on the year.
– Mununga has recorded a double-double in seven of the 22 games she has played in … She has grabbed double-digit rebounds in 12 games.
– Sydni Harvey is back to her old self after missing the first 10 games of the season due to a leg injury … Harvey is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.3 points per game, and has scored double figures in seven of the last 11 games played … She set a career high for three-point shots made in a game with seven against Temple (7-for-8) en route to a career-high tying 25 points on Feb. 9 … Harvey had a near perfect offensive night shooting 7-for-10 (70.0 percent) from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line to go along with her performance from long range.
– Elisa Pinzan posted a career high tying 23-point effort against UCF on Jan. 19 … She shot 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from the field and 58.3 percent (7-for-12) from behind the three-point arc … She set career-highs with eight field goals and seven three-point shots made against the Knights … Most recently, Pinzan had back-to-back 18 and 15-point efforts against Tulane on Feb. 13 and No. 5/6 UConn on Feb. 16, respectively … Pinzan also netted 14 points against No. 2/2 Baylor on Nov. 19 … Despite missing five games – Idaho, Mississippi State, UNLV, Brown and Cincinnati – due to an ankle injury, she continues to lead the team in assists per game, and is currently dishing out 4.7 per game, which is tops in The American through Feb. 16 … Pinzan has handed out six or more assists in six of the past 11 games – dating back to Alabama State on Dec. 6 – and in five-of-10 since returning from her ankle injury at Tulsa on Jan. 19.
– Tamara Henshaw, second on the team in rebounding, comes into the UCF game with 856 career rebounds, following her three-rebound effort against UConn on Feb. 16 … She has recorded double-figure rebounds in two of the last five games … She reached the 800-rebound plateau with her seven boards against Cincinnati on Jan. 5 … Against Houston, Henshaw moved past Nalini Miller (2003-07) into seventh all-time at USF … Next up is Jessica Lawson (2007-10), in sixth on the all-time list with 863.
– Kristyna Brabencova is averaging 7.6 points per game on the year and 3.6 rebounds per contest … She missed three games – Cincinnati, Temple and Tulane – due to a sprained ankle suffered against Houston (Jan. 29) … She has scored double figures in eight games this season, in five of her last nine played, and seven of her last 13 … Her double-figure outing at Tulsa on Jan. 12 was a career-high 17 points performance on 6-for-9 shooting (66.7 percent), including 2-for-3 (66.7 percent) from long range, and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.
SCOUTING UCF
– UCF comes into its game with USF with a 15-8 record and a 7-4 mark in The American … Entering the week, the Bulls and Knights are two of the three teams – along with Cincinnati (Cincinnati plays at Houston on Tuesday night) – in a tie for second in the AAC standings at 7-4 … UCF has won its last four games, five of its last six and six of its last eight, a stretch that began with a 64-57 win over the Bulls on Jan. 19 in Tampa.
– UCF has two players averaging double digits in the scoring column, led by Kay Kay Wright, netting 16.5 points per game … Brittney Smith is averaging 11.0 points per game … Masseny Kaba leads the Knights on the glass, grabbing 6.4 rebounds per game.
THE SERIES AGAINST THE KNIGHTS
– Wednesday’s game marks the 41st meeting between USF and UCF in the War on I-4, with the Bulls holding a 28-12 series lead, dating back to the inaugural meeting in January of 1973 … USF holds a slight 10-9 advantage over the Knights in games played in Orlando.
– Lights-out from long range all game, Elisa Pinzan put USF ahead by three near the midpoint of the fourth quarter before the Bulls dropped a 64-57 decision against UCF on Jan. 19 in the first War on I-4 installment of the season … Pinzan set a career high with seven made three-pointers in 12 attempts and matched her personal best with 23 points in the first home loss of the season for the Bulls … Pinzan also had a game-high five assists, just one turnover in 40 minutes, and two steals in front of 3,017 fans at the Yuengling Center … Bethy Mununga finished with 12 points and a team-leading nine rebounds in the first game of the season USF lost the battle on the glass.
About USF Women’s Basketball
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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 –
