Sammie Puisis nets a career-high tying 26 points and Elena Tsineke chipped in with 16 points.
Game Details
RV/RV USF 69, Wichita State 46
USF (14-4, 3-0 AAC), Wichita State (11-5, 1-2 AAC)
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023 | 3 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
WICHITA, Kan. (Jan. 7, 2023) — The University of South Florida women’s basketball team got a career-high tying 26 points from Sammie Puisis and 16 points from Elena Tsineke as the Bulls dominated Wichita State in the second half en route to a commanding 69-46 win at Charles Koch Arena. South Florida, who has won four straight games, and seven of its last nine, improve to 14-4 on the year and 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference. The Shockers fall to 11-5 overall and 1-2 in The American.
Joining Puisis and Tsineke in double digits was Carla Brito with 11 points. Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had nine points and seven rebounds and Aerial Wilson dished out a season-high nine assists, one shy of her career-high.
After leading by as many as six points at the beginning of the second half, 16-10, off a baseline jumper by Tsineke for two of her 10 first-half points, the Bulls fought off the Shockers to take a slight 31-30 edge into the locker room at the break when Puisis beat the buzzer with a straight-on three. Puisis finished the first 20 minutes with 13 of her 26 points.
South Florida looked like a different team to start the second half scoring 20 of the first 24 points, including a 15-2 run, to take its biggest lead of the day, to that point, 51-34, on a jumper by Puisis with just over six minutes left in the third quarter. The Green and Gold ended the third stanza by hitting nine-straight field goals.
The Bulls eventually pushed the advantage to 20 points, 56-36, to end the quarter on a layup by Carla Brito with just over a minute left.
Wichita State never threatened South Florida in the second half as the Bulls outscored the Shockers, 38-16, in the final 20 minutes of play.
Notable
- Saturday’s starters for the Bulls were: G Elena Tsineke, G Aerial Wilson, F Sammie Puisis, F Carla Brito and F Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu … The Bulls are 12-4 with this lineup.
- The win over Wichita State improves the Bulls’ record against the Shockers to 7-2 in the all-time series … The victory was the Bulls’ seventh straight against Wichita State.
- Elena Tsineke’s 16 points against Wichita State mark her 74th career double-figure scoring game in her 97th career game with the Bulls.
- Emma Johansson set a new career-high in blocked shots, doing so in the first half with three … She finished the game with four.
Up Next
The Bulls returns to the Yuengling Center for a three-game in a four-game stretch beginning on Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. against Memphis (ESPN+) for the first of back-to-back home games. South Florida will follow up its game against the Tigers by hosting Tulane, for the second meeting since Dec. 30. Game time is at 7 p.m.
Catch The Bulls on Bulls Unlimited & ESPN+
The majority of USF’s regular-season games will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform. The American Athletic Conference and ESPN began a new 12-year television rights agreement which started in 2020-21. Subscriptions for the ESPN+ app are $9.99 monthly or $99.99 annually and can be packaged with Hulu and Disney+ streaming services. A step-by-step guide for subscribing to ESPN+ is located here.
In addition, all games this season will be broadcast live on USF Bulls Unlimited, with Darek Sharp (home and away) and Brigid Merenda (for home games only) on the call. Bulls Unlimited is available via the free Tune In app (search “Bulls Unlimited’’) and provides static-free quality whether you’re listening on your streaming device, laptop or desktop.
About USF Women’s Basketball
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South Florida recorded its 10th 20-win season during the 2021-22 campaign while playing in its sixth American Athletic Conference championship game in its nine years in the conference. The Bulls achieved their highest national ranking of the season when it checked in at No. 13 in the Nov. 30 Associated Press Top 25 Poll, and advanced to their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the last nine years.
USF has made 17 postseason tournament appearances and had eight NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 22 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to 10 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship, and has won over 400 career games. 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 at the conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign.
In 2021-22, the Bulls had three players recognized by The American for impressive seasons, including Elena Tsineke (All-Conference First Team), Bethy Mununga (All-Conference Second Team) and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu (All-Conference Second Team).
In addition, Tsineke and Mununga were named to the American Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team.
–#GoBulls –
