Elena Tsineke leads three players in double figures with a career-high tying 20 points.
Game Details
USF 74, Houston 45
USF (13-8, 5-2 in AAC), Houston (10-11, 3-4 in AAC)
Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020 | 7 p.m. | ADN
Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
TAMPA (Jan. 29, 2020) – Elena Tsineke scored a career-high tying 20 points, and led two other players in double figures, as the University of South Florida women’s basketball team dominated Houston, 74-45, en route to its third-straight win Wednesday night at the Yuengling Center.
Tsineke, a freshman guard from Thessaloniki, Greece, shot 9-for-19 (47.4 percent) from the field in the win, and was joined in double digits in the scoring column by Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.) with 15 points and Bethy Mununga (Zellik, Belgium) with 11 points. Shae Leverett (Rincon, Ga.) grabbed a season-high 14 rebounds and Tamara Henshaw (Palm Coast, Fla.) hauled down 11 boards.
The Bulls controlled the game from the opening tip, jumping out to an 18-2 lead at the end of the first quarter, and a 40-18 advantage at the break, never looking back. USF shot 16-34 (47 percent) from the field during the first 20 minutes of play behind Tsineke’s 14 first half points.
The Bulls pushed their lead to as many 29 points twice in the final minutes of the game, on jumper by Henshaw and a three-point shot by Cristina Bermejo (Sant Just Desvern, Spain).
USF finished the night shooting 43.1 percent (28-of-65) from the field, including 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from behind the three-point arc, and had another solid performance from the free-throw line, hitting 80 percent of its shots (12-of-15).
Score By Quarters
1 2 3 4 F
USF 18 22 14 20 74
Houston 2 16 14 13 45
Key Stats
8-of-10 – Eight of the 10 players that saw the court, on Wednesday night for the Bulls, found their way into the scoring column.
18-2 – The Bulls jumped on Houston quickly, outscoring the Cougars, 18-2, in the first quarter, and holding UH to just 9.1 percent (1-for-11) shooting from the field in the first 10 minutes.
35 – USF received tremendous production from its bench against Houston, getting 35 points from its reserves, including 15 points from Sydni Harvey.
Notable
- Today’s starters for the Bulls were: G Elisa Pinzan, G Elena Tsineke, F Beatriz Jordao, W Kristyna Brabencova and F Bethy Mununga … The Bulls are 3-0 with this lineup.
- With its win over Houston, USF improves to 16-7 in the all-time series against the Cougars … The Bulls have won the last three games, and nine of the last 10.
- USF outrebounded its opponent, 48-34, for the 20th time in 21 games this season.
- The win also improves USF to 34-12 all-time in AAC games at home.
- Sydni Harvey’s 15 points is her fifth double-figure scoring game in her last seven outings, and the 23rd of her collegiate career, spanning just 43 career games.
- Tamara Henshaw grabbed 11 rebounds against Houston and is now in sole possession of seventh place, surpassing Nalini Miller (2003-07), with 834.
- Henshaw’s 11 boards marked her sixth double-figure rebounding performance of the season, and the 28th of her career.
- Henshaw played in her 122nd career game on Wednesday against Houston … She is currently in 10th all-time, at USF, in career games player, surpassing Laura Ferreira (2014-19).
Up Next
The Bulls will hit the road to face Cincinnati on Super Bowl Sunday at noon, with the being televised live on ESPNU. USF will return home to the Yuengling Center on Feb. 9, for the second of two meetings against Temple (ESPNU). Tip-off against the Owls is slated for noon. 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 –
