USF will take on JMU in the second round of the WNIT for a Sunday afternoon matchup at 6 p.m. in the Convocation Center in Harrisonburg, Va.
Matchup: USF Bulls (19-15, 7-9 AAC) vs. JMU Dukes (26-5, 17-1 CAA)
Date: Sunday March 24, 2019
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Location:Harrisonburg, Va., Convocation Center
TAMPA, Fla., March 23, 2019 – USF women’s basketball will look for its 20th win this season in the second round of the WNIT against James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., on Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
This will be USF’s sixth appearance in the WNIT second round or better, and USF is looking for its 20th win of the season. USF has had 20 wins or more for the past six straight seasons, and 19 wins or more for the past seven straight seasons.
JMU was selected as the second round host and the game will tip off at 6 p.m. on Sunday afternoon in the Convocation Center. The winner of the second round will face the winner of VCU and Virginia Tech in the third round, which tips on Sunday, March 24, at 2 p.m., at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.
LAST TIME OUT
South Florida, after 11 days between games, stormed out to a 34-point victory over Stetson on Thursday night. Four Bulls scored in double figures and freshman Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy) had a career high 23 points on a career high five three-pointers, culminating in a career-high seven makes from the field to lead the Bulls. The Bulls led wire-to-wire, storming out to a 19-4 lead in the first five minutes. USF tied its season high for points scored in the first quarter with 28, and set a new season high for points scored in the second quarter with 27, enough to lead Stetson 55-29 at halftime. USF cruised to victory, enjoying playing time from all nine available Bulls.
The Bulls own a streak of eight straight seasons playing in a postseason tournament, and this will be the 15th postseason tournament under Fernandez in 19 seasons at the helm.
The last time the Bulls participated in the WNIT was 2015 and are no stranger to success in the tournament, advancing to the semifinals in 2015 and winning the national crown in 2009.
THE OPPONENT
JMU is 26-5 on the season, including a 17-1 record in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dukes fell in the CAA quarterfinals in the championship tournament to Hofstra, 57-50. JMU is making its 14th stragith postseason appearace and third straight in the WNIT. The Dukes boast a 27-game winning streak in the Convocation Center.
All-time against JMU, USF is 0-2, last meeting in 2012 when the Dukes won 72-61, in the third round of the WNIT. JMU is led by Kamiah Smalls with 16 points per game, but has only played a combined ten minutes in her last two appearances and scored zero points.
THE WNIT
The WNIT bracket is made up of 64 teams in a single-elimination championship format. The field includes 32 teams that earned an automatic berth, and 32 teams that were chosen at-large. The automatic qualifiers are the best teams available from the nation’s 32 conferences that were not selected for the NCAA Tournament. The first round begins on Wednesday, March 20th and culminates in the championship help on Saturday, April 6. All games are hosted by participating institutions.
For more information about the WNIT, visit womensNIT.com.
Notable
- USF will look for its 20th win of the season in the second round of the WNIT on Sunday.
- USF has had 20 wins or more for the past six straight seasons, and 19 wins or more for the past seven straight seasons.
- Elisa Pinzan led the Bulls past Stetson in the first round with 23 points, a game-high total that highlighted her best career performance.
- USF has advanced to the second round or better of the WNIT five times.
- Thursday’s win over Stetson is USF’s first postseason victory since 2016, when the Bulls defeated Colorado State 48-45 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- The Bulls are no stranger to success in the WNIT, winning the crown in 2009, and advancing to the semifinals in their last WNIT appearance in 2014.
- Under Jose Fernandez, in the WNIT, USF is 14-7.
- Enna Pehadzic was named second-team all-conference, while Sydni Harvey was named to the All-Freshman team.
- Pehadzic was named to the AAC All-Tournament team.
- USF is without star Kitija Laksa (knee), Beatriz Jordao(leg) and Silvia Serrat(knee) for the season. The Bulls also have been without Laura Ferreira (heart condition) sicne January.
Follow Along
The game will be livestreamed on MadiZONE on JMUSports.com, and radio will be available on AM 1040 in Tampa Bay, or on USF’s 24-hour internet radio station, BullsUnlimited on iHeartRadio. Darek Sharp will be on the call. JMU will also have live stats on JMUSports.com.
Up Next
Should the Bulls advance, they will face the winner of VCU and Virginia Tech in the third round, which also tips on Sunday, March 24, at 2 p.m., at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. Third round hosting sites are determined by the WNIT, but are always hosted by a participating school. The third round of the WNIT is March 27-29, and the Bulls could play any day during that time frame.
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 sixth consecutive 20-win season and fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017-18. It marked the ninth 20-win season in program history, with head coach Jose Fernandez at the helm for all nine. The Bulls posted 26 wins in 2017-18, just shy of the program record of 27 set in 2008-09 and 2014-15.
USF has made 14 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 18 seasons. The all-timewinningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to nine 20-win seasons, twoWNIT final four appearances, the 2009WNIT championship and won more than 300 games.
–#GoBulls –
Lorie Garnett
Assistant Director, Communications // WBB, MSOC
