Tampa, Fla. – Nov. 17, 2024 – Graduate guard
Sammie Puisis (17 points) and graduate forward
Ines Piper (15 points) combined for 32 points in South Florida women's basketballs (3-2), 57-45, victory against UTRV (1-3) in the Yuengling Center on Sunday afternoon.
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Piper's full stat line consisted of 15 points, a career-best five steals, a season-best three blocks, and seven rebounds. Puisis (17 points) and senior forward
L'or Mputu joined Piper with seven rebounds apiece. Graduate guard
Mama Dembele added eight points a season-best five rebounds, and a season-high four steals.
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Junior Forward Charlotte O'Keefe led the visiting Vaqueros with an 11-point and 18-rebound double-double performance.
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HOW THE GAME WAS DECIDED
In the opening stanza, South Florida outscored UTRGV 26-12, where the Bulls shot an impressive 73.3% from field-goal range. Within the opening run, Piper led the way with nine points and Puisis followed with seven.
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Down the stretch in the third quarter, the Vaqueros managed to trim the Bull's lead to six points with a triple from freshman guard Gianna Angiolet, and the score was 32-26, USF. The Green and Gold answered with a 23-9 scoring spurt, which was sparked by a layup from Dembele, who would add six points, Puisis contributed eight between two triples and a jumper. At the end of the stretch, it was 55-35, USF, who had its largest lead of the night (20 points) in route to victory.
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HEAD COACH JOSE FERNANDEZ SAID
HIGHLIGHTS
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Dembele has recorded 3+ assists in 34 straight games, the second-longest active streak in DI, behind Drake's Katie Dinnebier (48 games).
- Piper's full stat line consisted of 15 points, a career-best five steals, a season-best three blocks, and seven rebounds
- Dembele added eight points a season-best five rebounds, and a season-high four steals.
- USF outscored UTRGV in points off of turnovers (28-6), points in the paint (34-16), and fast break points (22-6).
- The Bulls are now 61-5 in nonconference home games since the 2014-15 season.
- Junior guard Janette Aarnio matched a career-best four assists.
- The Bulls had a season-high 21 fouls called tonight, with six players earning three or more fouls.
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UP NEXT
South Florida welcomes Jacksonville to the Yuengling Center on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the action will stream live on ESPN+.
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TICKETS
Fans can purchase women's basketball tickets by calling 1-800-GoBulls or at USFBullsTix.com.
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ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
South Florida women's basketball has made 18 postseason tournament appearances and had nine NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez's 25 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided the Bulls to 11 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2008-09 WNIT championship, has won over 450 career games, and is the all-time wins leader in the American Athletic Conference.
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For complete coverage of USF women's basketball, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
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– #GoBulls –