Game Details: Sunday, Dec. 15, Columbia, S.C., 2 p.m.
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Tampa, Fla. – Dec. 13, 2024 – South Florida women’s basketball (5-5) heads to the Palmetto State for a showdown with the defending National Champions, No. 3/3 South Carolina on Sunday, Dec. 15 at Colonial Life Arena. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. and the action will air live on the SEC Network.
SETTING THE STAGE
The Bulls head to Columbia, S.C. looking for their second straight December win, while the Gamecocks are looking to secure their fifth straight victory.
THE SOUTH FLORIDA-SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES
Sunday is the second-ever meeting between the two squads. The first clash was a 76-45 South Carolina victory in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament (Mar. 19, 2023).
LAST TIME OUT
South Florida topped Merrimack, 62-43, on Education Day in the Yuengling Center on Thursday afternoon. USF hosted a record-breaking crowd of 9,821 Bulls fans, resetting its home attendance record, and is the second-highest home regular season women’s basketball game in the state of Florida on record. Sophomore guard Vittoria Blasigh (13 points) and junior forward Carla Brito (11 points) were the pair of USF performers to finish the day with double-digit points.
BEST OF THE BULLS
The Bulls are led by graduate guard Sammie Puisis (13.5 ppg.) and sophomore guard Vittoria Blasigh (10.8 ppg.) Puisis is ranked 13th in the nation with 29 total 3-pointers made and 20th in 3FG Made Per Game (2.9 3FGM). Junior forward Carla Brito holds a team best 7.5 rebound average. Graduate guard Mama Dembele is USF’s top assister with 5.1 apg. (51 total assists ranked 30th nationally). Dembele is 1 assist from reaching the 500 career assists milestone. In the latest NCAA Nitty Gritties Report, South Florida’s NET SOS was ranked 10th Nationally.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
USF has seen its first five victories this season come by at least 12 points, including the win over Merrimack. The last time the Bulls had their first five wins all be decided by at least a 12-point margin was in 2016-17 (first eight). The Bulls have gone 200 straight games without allowing their opponent to score 90 points, the seventh-longest active streak in Division I. It is the longest streak by USF this century. Mama Dembele currently leads the AAC in both assists and steals, one of three Division I players actively doing so (Campbell’s Gemma Nunez, Stephen F. Austin’s Ashlyn Traylor). No USF player this century has finished a season leading its conference in both categories. Sammie Puisis has 135 points and gone perfect from the free-throw line (10-for-10) through 10 games this season. The only other USF players in the last 25 years to reach those marks through their first 10 games of a season are Puisis in 2022-23 (170, 26-for-26) and Janae Stokes in 2008-09 (146, 8-for-8).
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 –
