Tsineke is the first Bull to earn the AAC Freshman of the Year honor since Tamara Henshaw in 2017.
UNCASVILLE, Conn (March 6, 2020) – University of South Florida women’s basketball standout guards Elena Tsineke (Thessaloniki, Greece) and Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy) were rewarded for their successful seasons by the American Athletic Conference when the league’s postseason awards were announced on Friday morning. Tsineke was named The American Freshman of the Year, Third Team All-AAC, and to the All-Freshman Team, while Pinzan joins Tsineke as a third team all-conference selection. Tsineke is the third USF AAC Freshman of the Year recipient in the past five years, joining Bulls’ senior Tamara Henshaw (Palm Coast, Fla.) in 2017 and Kitija Laksa in 2016.
Tsineke finished the regular season leading the team in scoring, averaging 12.4 points per contest, which is good enough for 15th in The American and second among all conference freshmen, despite missing the first five games of the season after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA. She is also first in the AAC in free-throw percentage, shooting 87.5 percent (56-of-64) from the line, and fourth on the team in assists, dishing out 1.6 per game.
Tsineke has scored double figures in 17 of the 24 games she has played with the Bulls, and has netted 20-or-more points in four games, including a 25-point effort against Temple on Feb. 9 in Tampa. She also had a 21-point outing against SMU on Feb. 29, and two 20-point games against Houston on Jan. 29, and at Temple on Jan. 16.
Pinzan enters the AAC Tournament as the league leader in assists, dishing out 4.8 per game, and dropped a career-high nine dimes against SMU on Feb. 29, in the Bulls’ regular season home finale. In addition, she is third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.7 points per game, and has scored in double figures in 10 of the 25 games she has played this season.
Pinzan missed five games this season due to an ankle injury. Since her return at Tulsa on Jan. 12, Pinzan is averaging 10.8 points per game and 5.2 assists per outing in 15 games, as opposed to averaging 8.0 points and 4.2 assists per contest in the 10 games before.
Pinzan has also been an “Iron Woman” for the Bulls this season, logging six complete 40-minute games, including in five of the last 13 games.
Tsineke and Pinzan will lead the fourth-seeded Bulls (18-12, 10-6 AAC) into their AAC Tournament quarterfinal matchup on Saturday at noon (ESPN3) against the winner of the first-round game between fifth-seeded Tulane and 12th-seeded Tulsa. The winner of the quarterfinal game will advance to the semifinals on Sunday at 4 p.m. (ESPN2). The American championship game is slated for Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Bulls are 11-6 all-time in the AAC Tournament and have advanced to at least the semifinal round in each of the previous six tournaments, and to the championship game four times (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018).
Below is the complete 2020 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference tournament schedule.
Friday, March 6 – First Round (Mohegan Sun Arena)
Game 1 (ESPN3) No. 5 Tulane vs. No. 12 Tulsa 12 p.m.
Game 2 (ESPN3) No. 8 Temple vs. No. 9 East Carolina 2 p.m.
Game 3 (ESPN3) No. 7 Wichita State vs. No. 10 Houston 6 p.m.
Game 4 (ESPN3) No. 6 SMU vs. No. 11 Memphis 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 7 – Quarterfinals (Mohegan Sun Arena)
Game 5 (ESPN3) No. 4 USF vs. No. 5 Tulane/No. 12 Tulsa 12 p.m.
Game 6 (ESPN3) No. 1 UConn vs. No. 8 Temple/No. 9 East Carolina 2 p.m.
Game 7 (ESPN3) No. 2 UCF vs. No. 7 Wichita State/No. 10 Houston 6 p.m.
Game 8 (ESPN3) No. 3 Cincinnati vs. No. 6 SMU/No. 11 Memphis 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 8 – Semifinals (Mohegan Sun Arena)
Game 9 (ESPN2) Semifinal Game One (Gm. 5 winner vs. Gm. 6 winner) 4 p.m.
Game 10 (ESPNU) Semifinal Game Two (Gm. 7 winner vs. Gm. 8 winner) 6:30 p.m.
Monday, March 9 – Championship (Mohegan Sun Arena)
Game 11 (ESPN2) Championship game 7 p.m.
All times listed here are Eastern time
About USF Women’s Basketball
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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.
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