Tampa, Fla. – Nov. 17, 2024 – Graduate guard Sammie Puisis (17 points) and graduate forward Ines Piper (15 points) combined for 32 points in South Florida women’s basketballs (3-2), 57-45, victory against UTRV (1-3) in the Yuengling Center on Sunday afternoon.
Piper’s full stat line consisted of 15 points, a career-best five steals, a season-best three blocks, and seven rebounds. Puisis (17 points) and senior forward L’or Mputu joined Piper with seven rebounds apiece. Graduate guard Mama Dembele added eight points a season-best five rebounds, and a season-high four steals.
Junior Forward Charlotte O’Keefe led the visiting Vaqueros with an 11-point and 18-rebound double-double performance.
HOW THE GAME WAS DECIDED
In the opening stanza, South Florida outscored UTRGV 26-12, where the Bulls shot an impressive 73.3% from field-goal range. Within the opening run, Piper led the way with nine points and Puisis followed with seven.
Down the stretch in the third quarter, the Vaqueros managed to trim the Bull’s lead to six points with a triple from freshman guard Gianna Angiolet, and the score was 32-26, USF. The Green and Gold answered with a 23-9 scoring spurt, which was sparked by a layup from Dembele, who would add six points, Puisis contributed eight between two triples and a jumper. At the end of the stretch, it was 55-35, USF, who had its largest lead of the night (20 points) in route to victory.
HEAD COACH JOSE FERNANDEZ SAID
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NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Dembele has recorded 3+ assists in 34 straight games, the second-longest active streak in DI, behind Drake’s Katie Dinnebier (48 games).
- Piper’s full stat line consisted of 15 points, a career-best five steals, a season-best three blocks, and seven rebounds
- Dembele added eight points a season-best five rebounds, and a season-high four steals.
- USF outscored UTRGV in points off of turnovers (28-6), points in the paint (34-16), and fast break points (22-6).
- The Bulls are now 61-5 in nonconference home games since the 2014-15 season.
- Junior guard Janette Aarnio matched a career-best four assists.
- The Bulls had a season-high 21 fouls called tonight, with six players earning three or more fouls.
UP NEXT
South Florida welcomes Jacksonville to the Yuengling Center on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the action will stream live on ESPN+.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase women’s basketball tickets by calling 1-800-GoBulls or at USFBullsTix.com.
ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
South Florida women’s basketball has made 18 postseason tournament appearances and had nine NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 25 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided the Bulls to 11 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2008-09 WNIT championship, has won over 450 career games, and is the all-time wins leader in the American Athletic Conference.
For complete coverage of USF women’s basketball, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
– #GoBulls –
