It's March and, as usual, the South Florida women's basketball team is hunting for a conference championship and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
This time, though, the Bulls are the hunters — not the hunted.
After a mostly frustrating regular season, the Bulls (18-13, 10-8) have earned the No. 5 seed at the American Athletic Conference Tournament, which begins Saturday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
USF, needing four victories in four days to secure the AAC's automatic NCAA bid, opens Sunday afternoon against the winner of Saturday's opening-round game between No. 12 Florida Atlantic and No. 13 Wichita State.
The Bulls are seeking their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and the program's 10th overall bid. They are also looking for redemption after dropping last season's AAC Tournament quarterfinal against Wichita State, 65-53.
Asked about the biggest positive from this season, Coach Jose Fernandez answered quickly:
"I think our biggest positive is still yet to be accomplished.''
That's winning the AAC Tournament.
"This team has the ability to finish on a great note,'' Fernandez said. "Our focus is the next game and playing well. Win that and our focus — again — is the next game and playing well.
"We've lost a lot of tough games. But this team has continually shown the ability to prepare, play hard and compete, so I'm proud of that. The biggest goal is still there right in front of us.''
USF had to replace two of the best players in program history — WNBA draft picks and first-team All-AAC performers Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu and Elena Tsineke — then lost top returner Sammie Puisis to a season-ending injury in December.
In seven of USF's eight AAC defeats, the Bulls led in the fourth quarter.
"The really, really good teams are the ones who get the necessary stops down the stretch or score when you really need a basket,'' Fernandez said. "We've struggled in those areas. But no one is going to feel sorry for us. We've got to get better. We've got to play better in those situations. I feel we have the ability to do that — and March is when you want to do that. This is when you need to show that growth.''
One player who grew exponentially is junior forward Romi Levy, a transfer from Auburn who leads USF in scoring (14.9 points per game). She has 10 games of 20 points or greater, including a career-high 32-point effort at Tulane on Jan. 6, and 17 consecutive double-digit games.
"I think we all understand that we can make it happen,'' Levy said. "We're in a really good flow right now. We're coming off two straight wins (53-51 against Tulane and 68-61 in overtime at SMU) and we're actually playing our best ball of the season.
"The underdog mentality is not a bad thing at all. We've had our struggles, of course, but I think it made us closer. It's absolutely the perfect time to get it together. You've always got great players leaving and new players coming in. You have to figure out that chemistry and I think we finally have. If we work together as a team, we can beat any team in this conference. Now we've got to go out and do it. Anything can happen.''
Anything did happen last season, when the No. 1-seeded and prohibitive AAC favorite Bulls were shocked by the No. 8 Shockers. USF still earned an NCAA at-large bid and pulled out a dramatic first-round comeback victory against Marquette, but it's hoping for a much longer AAC Tournament stay this time.
"That game last season (against Wichita State) … it felt like a simulation,'' Bulls point guard Aerial Wilson said. "It just did not feel real. It almost defied logic. Afterward, we were all like, 'What just happened?'
"We never took it for granted. We had so much confidence in ourselves and I don't think there was a single point in the game when we thought we were really going to lose. But it was the one game all year where nothing good happened and it was the worst possible time. I think it showed us that every little thing really matters and we're going to go into this season's conference tournament with that mindset.''
Wilson, a senior who's in her last stretch of college basketball, said she's feeling good about the Bulls.
"Honestly, everyone is just really excited,'' Wilson said. "Our conference is so tight and unpredictable. Now it's tournament time … so let's go! We have good energy and good vibes.
"People have stepped up to new roles. We still need consistency and we still need people playing at their best. But this is definitely the time that you want to start seeing things come together. And I think we're finally starting to see that.''
Wilson said the difference will be USF's ability to finish games in the fourth quarter, which was the season's biggest weakness. If the Bulls get in a groove of playing complete games, they could earn an NCAA bid in a most unexpected manner.
"Last season, we played the whole way with a big target on our backs,'' Wilson said. "Now nobody is talking about us.''
Let the hunt begin.
