USF Athletics

USF WBB Picked First in AAC Preseason Poll; Tsineke, Pinzan Preseason Second Team

October 28, 2020

DALLAS (Oct. 28, 2020) – The University of South Florida women's basketball team has been picked to finish atop the American Athletic Conference (AAC) this season in the league's coaches poll announced by the conference on Wednesday. It marks the first time in program history that the Bulls have been selected first in a preseason conference poll.   
 
Click here to see the complete conference release.
 
In addition, sophomore guard Elena Tsineke (Thessaloniki, Greece) and junior guard Elisa Pinzan (Murano, Italy) were named to the AAC Preseason All-Conference Second Team.
 
The Bulls earned the top spot with 98 total points and eight of the 11 first place votes. UCF (79) was picked to finish second and Tulane (78) third, while Cincinnati (73) and Temple (57) round out the top five teams in the preseason poll. Wichita State (54), Houston (49) and Memphis (40) were slotted sixth through eighth, respectively, with East Carolina (36), SMU (31) and Tulsa (10) rounding out the bottom three teams.
 
UCF (1) and Cincinnati (2) were the only two other schools to earn first place votes.
 
Despite several key injuries for the second straight season during the 2019-20 campaign, the Bulls posted a 19-13 record (10-6 AAC) and still advanced to AAC semifinals. It was the seventh straight season that they appeared in at least the conference tournament semifinals. In addition, USF was set to play in its 16th postseason tournament before the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Tsineke, the team's top returning scorer from a year ago, averaged 12.4 points per game in 2019-20 and 12.6 points per outing in AAC games, en route to being named The American Freshman of the Year, Third Team All-Conference and to the AAC All-Freshmen Team.
 
Tsineke shot 37.3 percent (115-307) from the field and hit 44 of her 138 shots from behind the three-point arc (31.9 percent), while also leading The American in free-throw shooting percentage, hitting 88.2 percent (60-for-68) from the charity stripe. She tallied double figures in 18 games on the year in 27 games played, and poured in 20-or-more points four times during her rookie campaign, including a career-high 25 points in a dominating 99-51 win over Temple.
 
Pinzan established herself as one of the top point guards in The American during the 2019-20 campaign, while joining Tsineke as an All-Conference Third Team selection at the end of the year. She averaged 9.0 points per game, 4.5 assists per outing, and 2.9 rebounds per contest, in 27 games, including 24 starts. Despite missing five games during the season due to an ankle injury, Pinzan was the conference leader in assists per game, and was fourth in total assists (121). In addition, she scored in double figures in 10 games on the year and handed out five-or-more assists 14 times.
 
The Bulls will announce their schedule for the upcoming season in the coming weeks.
 
Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
 
Team (First-Place Votes) - Points
1. USF (8) - 98
2. UCF (1) - 79
3. Tulane - 78
4. Cincinnati (2) - 73
5. Temple - 57
6. Wichita State - 54
7. Houston - 49
8. Memphis - 40
9. East Carolina - 36
10. SMU - 31
11. Tulsa - 10
 
Preseason Players of the Year
IImar'I Thomas, F, Cincinnati
Mia Davis, F, Temple
 
Preseason All-Conference First Team
Brittney Smith, F, UCF
IImar'I Thomas, F, Cincinnati*
Lashonda Monk, G, East Carolina
Mia Davis, F, Temple*
Krystal Freeman, F, Tulane*
 
Preseason All-Conference Second Team
Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, F, Memphis
Elisa Pinzan, G, USF
Elena Tsineke, G, USF
Arsula Clark, G, Tulane
Mariah McCully, G, Wichita State
 
*denotes unanimous selection
 
About USF Women's Basketball
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 USF notched its ninth consecutive 19-win season and was poised for its ninth straight postseason appearance in 2019-20 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the end of the college basketball season. The Bulls celebrated two all-conference honorees in Elena Tsineke and Elisa Pinzan. Tsineke was named the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, in addition to The American All-Freshman Team and Third Team All-Conference; while Pinzan was named a Third Team All-Conference selection.
 
USF has made 15 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez's 20 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.