The second-team All-AAC selection was among the leaders in The American in scoring, rebounding, and blocks while at Memphis in 2020-21.
TAMPA (May 4, 2021) –University of South Florida head women’s basketball coach Jose Fernandez announced on Tuesday that one of the most highly sought-after student-athletes in the NCAA women’s basketball transfer portal, 6-foot-4 forward Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (Nkongsamba, Cameroon), will be transferring to USF. Fankam Mendjiadeu, who played the past two seasons at Memphis, will join fellow signees, Odeth Betancourt (San Cristobal, Venezuela) and Bella Weary (Jacksonville, Fla.) and are all expected to make immediate impacts during the 2021-22 season.
“Dulcy has proven what she can do at a high level,” said Fernandez. “We are adding an all-conference player to our program, and she will make an impact on an already talented front line.”
While at Memphis, Fankam Mendjiadeu earned second-team All-AAC honors this past season, playing in all 19 games, and starting in 18. Fankam Mendjiadeu led the Tigers in both scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots on the year, averaging 14.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.6 rejections per game, respectively. In addition, her scoring average was seventh in The American, and her rebounding and blocked shot averages were both second in the league.
During the 2020-21 campaign, Fankam Mendjiadeu recorded 10 double-doubles, while netting double-figures in 14 games, including six outings with 20 or more points. She also logged nine games with 10-plus rebounds and 14 or more boards in eight games. She had a career-high 17 rebounds at Saint Louis on Dec. 4.
As a junior, Fankam Mendjiadeu played in 31 games and was second on the team in scoring and first on the team in rebounding, averaging 12.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, respectively. In addition, she was second in The American in double-doubles (15) and tops in the conference in double-doubles in league play (10). Fankam Mendjiadeu was also first on the team in blocked shots, averaging just under one rejection per contest.
A former National Junior College Athletic Association All-American at Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tenn., Fankam Mendjiadeu helped lead the Senators to a 29-5 record and a 16-0 mark in the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association during the 2018-19 season. In her one season at Walters, she averaged 15.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game, and 18.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in conference play.
This past season, USF posted a 19-4 overall record, and a 12-2 mark in The American, and capped off an unprecedented season with its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance, and its sixth trip to the Big Dance in the last nine years. The Green and Gold finished the year ranked No. 19 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 18 in the USA Today Sports Coaches Poll, and rose to as high as No. 12 in the AP poll on Feb. 15, USF’s highest ranking ever.
Included in their 19 wins are a thrilling 67-63 overtime victory over No. 6 Mississippi State, the highest-ranked team the Bulls have ever defeated, and two victories over rival UCF. The first win against the Knights secured the regular-season crown on March 2 (W, 65-62) and the second the AAC Tournament crown on March 11 (W, 64-54).
USF defeated Washington State, 57-53, in the NCAA Tournament first round for its first tournament win since March 19, 2016, when it defeated Colorado State, 48-45.
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USF has recorded its best season in program history during the 2020-21 campaign, all while navigating the unpredictable COVID-19 landscape. In doing so, the Bulls won their first-ever conference regular-season and tournament titles, and posted their highest ranking in the Associated Press Top25 poll, reaching as high as No. 12.
USF has made 16 postseason tournament appearances and had seven NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 21 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 380 games. For his efforts on the sideline during the 2020-21 season, 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.
Also, during the 2020-21 campaign, the Bulls had five players recognized by The American for impressive seasons, including Elisa Pinzan (Most Improved Player, All-Conference Second Team), Maria Alvarez (Co-Sixth Player of the Year), Bethy Mununga (All-Conference First Team), Elena Tsineke (All-Conference First Team), and Sydni Harvey (All-Conference Third Team).
In addition, Harvey was named the American Athletic Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player and to the All-Tournament Team, while Mununga and Tsineke were also All-Tournament selections.
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