With a mix of veteran returners and some impact newcomers, USF women's basketball coach Jose Fernandez said he believes the Bulls have the necessary ingredients to contend for an American Conference championship.
So do his players.
"We trust this man (Fernandez),'' graduate student 6-foot-2 forward L'or Mputu said. "He has done this for 25 seasons and now we are the 26th team. He knows what he's doing. We have talent and we will be well-prepared, so I have a lot of confidence that we will reach our goals.''
"We can see the chemistry starting to come together,'' senior 5-11 forward Carla Brito said. "We do have a lot of new players, but I can see this coming together quickly. I just want to be a better player and a better person than I was in the previous seasons. I do feel a responsibility to help lead this team.''
Brito, an American Conference second-team all-star and Most Outstanding Player in the league tournament, has tons of experience. She has played in 101 career USF games, starting 96, accumulating 870 points (8.6 average) and 683 rebounds (6.8).
Meanwhile, Mputu was named the American's Most Improved Player by averaging 9.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. That included 14 double-digit scoring performances and 12 double-digit rebounding efforts, including a 21-rebound game against North Texas in the conference tournament semifinals.
"L'or comes ready to work hard every day,'' Brito said. "She wants to be the best. Her skills the first year compared to now, there is no comparison She's going to be a big part of what we do.''
"I love Carla's game,'' Mputu said. "I feel like she does everything. When we're tired and when the other team is wearing down, that's when Carla picks it up. She hustles. She's strong. She can do it all and it's great to have her back again.''
Brito and Mputu were key players down the stretch last season, when the Bulls (23-11) won the American Conference title to earn an NCAA Tournament bid.
The Bulls, who open Monday, Nov. 3 at home against Florida International University, are looking to replace four of their top six scorers from last season, including prolific outside threat Sammie Puisis, who is now playing professional basketball.
Fernandez said he expects a generous amount of those points to be produced by USF's newcomers.
"Everybody is here for a reason and that's to be part of a championship-type program,'' Fernandez said. "That's always our expectation here and this season it won't be any different. We've got some really good new talent coming in here.''
The Bulls have 5-10 graduate student guard Katie Davidson (first-team All-Horizon League selection at IU-Indianapolis), 5-7 graduate student guard Edyn Battle (first-team All-Atlantic Sun selection at Jacksonville), 5-10 junior guard Kirsten Lewis-Williams (second-team All-MAC selection with Buffalo's WNIT champions) and 5-8 junior guard Stefanie Ingram (who led Florida Atlantic last season with 160 assists).
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Davidson, who averaged 19.4 points last season, has 1,213 career points. Battle, who averaged 20.8 points last season, has 1,452 career points. Lewis-Williams, who averaged 13.6 points last season, has 877 career points.
"We feel like we have four (transfers) who are really, really going to help us,'' Fernandez said.
The Bulls also have key returning contributors in 5-11 senior point guard Janette Aarnio, 6-3 junior forward Fatou Diakite, 6-2 sophomore forward Yana Karamfilova and 5-11 sophomore guard Raina Tomasicka and 6-0 graduate student Ines Piper, plus three freshmen in 5-10 guard Jelena Bulajic, 5-8 guard Lee Teichman and 6-5 center Lana Vukcevic.
USF normally plays a challenging non-conference schedule, but this season seems like a completely different standard.
The Bulls will face three members of last season's NCAA Women's Final Four field — the UCLA Bruins on Nov. 15 at Las Vegas, plus home games against the defending national champion UConn Huskies on Dec. 2 and the national runner-up South Carolina Gamecocks on Dec. 18.
There's also a home game against the regional finalist Duke Blue Devils on Nov. 20 and a trip to the Vanderbilt Commodores on Dec. 15.
"What do they say? To be the best, you've got to play the best?'' Fernandez said. "That's what we've always believed in. It's the kind of schedule that should get the fans excited and I know our players are looking forward to it.
"The whole idea is to get this team toughened up and playing its best basketball in March. That's the way we do it around here and I know the (transfer) players we brought in are going to be an important part of that.''
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ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
South Florida women's basketball has made 19 postseason tournament appearances and had 10 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 12 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2008-09 WNIT championship, and has won 485 career games, and is the all-time wins leader in the American Conference
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