Fourth Quarter Fire Fuels USF’s 59-48 Win Over Tulsa
TAMPA, FLA., FEB. 16, 2019 – USF, with just seven players, outscored Tulsa 16-2 in the fourth quarter to earn a crucial conference win, 59-48, at the Yuengling Center on Saturday.
Freshman
Luize Septe (Ventspils, Latvia), had a career high night with 16 points, seven rebounds, four blocks, two steals and an assist, including a 7-0 run by herself in the third quarter to give USF a temporary lead.
USF (13-12, 4-7 AAC) never led after each of the first three quarters in the back-and-forth game which saw the score tied seven times. But in the fourth quarter,
Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy) knocked down her only three pointer of the game to tie the contest for the last time.
Tamara Henshaw (Palm Coast, Fla.) went on a 6-2 run by herself, with those two points being Tulsa's only points of the quarter. Three more Bulls went on to score seven more points and Tulsa fell to 11-13 on the season and 5-6 in AAC play.
Henshaw finished with her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but the Bulls were led by
Enna Pehadzic (Horsens, Denmark) with a game-high 20 points.
Five Bulls played in 34 minutes or more while
Janeta Rozentale (Dobeles, Latvia) and
Alyssa Rader (Thornton, Colo.) added relief off the bench for a combined 10 minutes. Prior to today's victory, freshman point guard
Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.), was the lone Bull to play and start in all contests this season. But concussion protocol sidelined Harvey and fellow freshman Pinzan stepped in for Harvey. Pinzan stepped up with a game-high seven assists, four points and four rebounds.
Shae Leverett (Rincon, Ga.) added seven points, seven rebounds, five blocks and a steal in the victory.
Quotable by Jose Fernandez
"We had a really good week of practice and we've been in so many of these games," head coach
Jose Fernandez said. "I'm happy for the group because they deserved it. We're playing everybody's first team with our reserves and we're in every game. That's just a credit to a great staff and we've got great kids in our program."
Key Stats
2– USF held Tulsa to just two fourth-quarter points to seal the victory.
16– Septe had a career high 16 points, a career high four blocks, and a career high two steals in 40 minutes of play.
40– Three Bulls, Pehadzic, Pinzan and Septe, played all 40 minutes.
Notable
- Pehadzic led all scorers with 20 points, her fifth time scoring 20 points or more this season.
- USF outscored Tulsa 16-2 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
- Tamara Henshaw had her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
- Just seven Bulls saw action in Saturday's victory, with Sydni Harvey missing the action due to concussion protocol.
- USF is without star Kitija Laksa (knee), Beatriz Jordao(leg) and Silvia Serrat(knee) for the season. The Bulls also have been without Laura Ferreira (illness) for the past nine games.
Up Next
USF hits the road to face ECU on Wednesday, Feb. 20 in Greenville, N.C. at 7 p.m.
About USF Women's Basketball
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USF notched its sixth consecutive 20-win season and fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017-18. It marked the ninth 20-win season in program history, with head coach Jose Fernandez at the helm for all nine. The Bulls posted 26 wins in 2017-18, just shy of the program record of 27 set in 2008-09 and 2014-15.
USF has made 14 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez's 18 seasons. The all-time winningestcoach 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 300 games.
--#GoBulls–
