By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

GREENVILLE, N.C., FEB. 20, 2019 – Enna Pehadzic scored 16 of her career-high 35 points during USF's decisive 19-0 run in the fourth quarter that boosted the Bulls to a 63-50 victory over East Carolina at Minges Coliseum on Wednesday night.

Pehadzic (Horsens, Denmark) knocked down a go-ahead three with 6:38 remaining and made two more during the game-changing run that helped the Bulls improve to 14-12 (5-7 in AAC). The sophomore guard finished her show-stealing performance with a career-high six three-pointers in a full 40 minutes and went 13-for-14 from the free throw line in her third straight 20-plus point outing.

Using just eight players, USF won its second straight game without freshman guard Sydni Harvey (Nashville, Tenn.), who sat out once again due to concussion protocol. Junior post Tamara Henshaw (Palm Coast, Fla.) stepped up with nine points and 12 rebounds as USF finished with a 39-32 edge on the glass.

Freshman guard Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy) also played a full 40 minutes, finishing with eight points and four assists while tying her career high with a pair of three-pointers.

Pehadzic's 10 points and Henshaw's 11 boards led USF in a tight first half that saw the Bulls erase a seven-point deficit in the second quarter. ECU made a late free throw to take a 29-28 lead into the break.

The Bulls grabbed a 13-12 advantage in the first quarter and were powered by points from three players. Henshaw accounted for four points and her eight rebounds helped the Bulls start with a 15-8 advantage on the boards.

ECU seized a 20-13 lead by starting the second quarter on an 8-0 run. The Pirates went scoreless for a three-plus minute stretch while USF tied things up with a 6-0 run that was snapped by Necole Hope's go-ahead free throw with five seconds remaining.

Pehadzic scored nine of USF's 16 points in the third quarter and her two free throws with three seconds remaining spotted the Bulls a 44-42 lead heading into the final period.

ECU scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, but Pehadzic's fourth three-pointer put the Bulls back ahead, 47-46, with 6:38 remaining. Pehadzic made two more threes during the 19-0 run that helped secure her first 30-plus point outing as a Bull.

Quotable
Head coach Jose Fernandez on Enna Pehadzic's stellar performance and the Bulls' second-half showing:
"She did a good job. She hit some big ones in that fourth quarter when we needed her to. I'm really proud of our (players). In the second half, we wanted to do a good job taking care of the ball and rebounding, and we did that."
 
Key Stats
35 – Enna Pehadzic scored a career-high 35 points and also set a new career best with six three-pointers.
19-0 – USF pulled away with a 19-0 run in the fourth quarter the boosted the Bulls to a 63-46 lead.
6:07 – ECU went on a scoring drought for more than six minutes during USF's 19-0 run.

Notables

• Sophomore guard Enna Pehadzic (Horsens, Denmark) set new career highs with 35 points and six three-pointers in her first 30-plus point outing as a Bull. Pehadzic's previous career high was 22 points against Cincinnati on Jan. 30.
• The 35-point total is the most of any American Athletic Conference women's basketball player this season.
• Pehadzic has scored at least 20 points in three straight games.
• 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 11 games. Freshman guard Sydni Harvey missed her second straight game (concussion protocol).
• USF improved to 4-4 in true road games this season.
• Freshman guard Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy) matched her career high with a pair of three-pointers

 
Up Next
USF returns to the Yuengling Center to host Wichita State on Saturday at 7 p.m. Reserve your seats at USFBullsTix.com.
 
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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 Fernandezat 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 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 300 games.