Sydni Harvey
57
Winner South Fla. USF 5-2,0-0 AAC
54
Stanford Stan 4-2,0-0 Pac-12
Winner
South Fla. USF
5-2,0-0 AAC
57
Final
54
Stanford Stan
4-2,0-0 Pac-12
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
South Fla. USF 15 13 11 18 57
Stanford Stan 9 10 17 18 54

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Sydni Harvey, No. 18 South Florida top No. 7 Stanford 57-54

Game Details
No. 18/20 South Florida 57, No. 7/5 Stanford 54
USF (5-2), Stanford (4-2)
Friday, Nov. 26, 2021 | Noon | FloHoops
Nassau, Bahamas | Baha Mar Convention Center

REVISED AP STORY WITH QUOTES
 
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) (Nov. 26, 2021) — South Florida coach Jose Fernandez had total faith that Sydni Harvey would hit the game-winning shot when he drew up the final play in a timeout.

The junior guard hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 2.8 seconds left, sending No. 18 South Florida to a 57-54 win over seventh-ranked Stanford in the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship tournament on Friday.
 
"Coach called the play and I hit the shot and we had a couple of defensive stops and that was that," Harvey said. "It was a very exciting game to play in."
 
With a flight home shortly after the game, Fernandez was going for the victory instead of trying to force overtime.
 
"We had to catch our flight out of here," Fernandez said laughing.
 
Led by Harvey's 15 points, South Florida posted its second victory over a top-10 opponent this week and only the third overall for the program.
 
In addition, Harvey became the 25th player in program history to score 1,000 career points.
 
"It gives us confidence we can hang with anybody in the country," Harvey said.
 
South Florida's Bethy Mununga matched a career high with 23 rebounds, to go along with six points.
 
Trailing by two in the final seconds, Harvey caught a pass from the corner and swished the 3-pointer in front of her coach.
 
Stanford (4-2) couldn't recover.
 
The Bulls (5-2) completed a difficult stretch, playing four ranked teams in their last five games. Before coming to the Bahamas, South Florida lost at Tennessee. Fernandez's team then played UConn tough before losing and beat then-No. 9 Oregon.
 
"That five-game stretch was difficult on us," Fernandez said. "We were tied up in the fourth quarter against Connecticut and rebounded against Oregon. This was good for us. We had two days to get ready for them. We defended. We got the stops when we needed to especially at the end of the game."
 
Cameron Brink had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Stanford.
 
Stanford rallied from 12 down and took a 53-52 lead on Lacey Hull's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 14.1 seconds left. After a miss by South Florida, Brooke Demetre hit one of two free throws to make it a two-point game and set up Harvey's big shot.
 
Elisa Pinzan added two free throws for the final margin as Stanford couldn't get a shot off before the buzzer.
 
"Always tough to lose a game like that," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "We made some real big plays. Really proud of our team and how we battled in the second half. Credit South Florida, they made a real big shot when they needed to. We've made shots like that before."
 
South Florida led 28-19 at halftime and increased its advantage to 12 before Stanford started to rally behind its 3-point shooting. The Cardinal tied it at 42 early in the fourth quarter before South Florida scored five straight. Stanford rallied and took its first lead of the game with 4:18 left on Demetre's 3-pointer from the wing.
 
Neither team scored again until Elena Tsineke's floater in the lane with 2:05 remaining. After more misses, Mununga grabbed her 23rd rebound with 27.8 seconds left and was fouled. She hit the second of two free throws to make it 52-50.
 
Stanford wanted to play a third game while on this trip east so the contest against South Florida was added. The Bulls played in the other tournament on the island, finishing third at the inaugural Battle 4 Atlantis event.

Story courtesy of Associated Press. USF athletics communications contributed to this recap.

Key Stat
52-38 – The Bulls dominated the glass against much bigger Stanford, including a 24-16 edge on the offensive glass.
 
Notable
  • Friday's starters for the Bulls were: G Elisa Pinzan, G Sydni Harvey, W Elena Tsineke, F Shae Leverett, and F Bethy Mununga … The Bulls are 4-2 with this lineup.
  • The meeting with Stanford was the first between the Cardinal and Bulls.
  • The win over the Cardinal marked USF head coach Jose Fernandez's 397th of his career, three shy of 400 … In his 22nd year as head coach of the Bulls, Fernandez's career coaching record is 397-278.
  • Bethy Mununga's 23 rebounds tie her career-high and mark the third 20-rebound game of her career. It is one rebound shy of the American Athletic Conference record and two shy of the program record. 
Up Next
The Bulls close out their seven-game road stretch with back-to-back games at UT Arlington on Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. ET, and then at defending Atlantic 10 champion VCU on Dec. 12 at 1 p.m.
 
South Florida will finally return home to the Yuengling Center, for two straight, beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 15 against in-state foe Stetson for Education Day, with tip-off at 11 a.m. The Bulls will close out the short home short two-game stretch on Dec. 17 against High Point at 7 p.m.
 
About USF Women's Basketball
To stay up-to-date on the latest USF women's basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
 
USF recorded its best season in program history during the 2020-21 campaign, all while navigating the unpredictable COVID-19 landscape. In doing so, the Bulls won their first-ever American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and posted their highest ranking in the Associated Press Top25 poll – reaching as high as No. 12 – and made their ninth straight postseason appearance, and sixth NCAA appearance in the last 10 years.
 
USF has made 16 postseason tournament appearances and had seven NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez's 21 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 nearly 400 career games. For his efforts on the sideline during the 2020-21 season, 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.
 
The Bulls posted a 19-4 record and had five players, during the 2020-21 campaign, the Bulls had five players recognized by The American for impressive seasons, including Elisa Pinzan (Most Improved Player, All-Conference Second Team), Maria Alvarez (Co-Sixth Player of the Year), Bethy Mununga (All-Conference First Team), Elena Tsineke (All-Conference First Team), and Sydni Harvey (All-Conference Third Team).
 
In addition, Harvey was named the American Athletic Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player and to the All-Tournament Team, while Mununga and Tsineke were also All-Tournament selections.
 
– #GoBulls –
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