TAMPA (Dec. 14, 2022) - The University of South Florida women's basketball team got 17 points from Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu and 16 points from Elena Tsineke as the Bulls defeated Marshall, 77-68, on Wednesday morning in front of 5,573 fans at the Yuengling Center. The Monday morning contest was part of South Florida's annual Education Day that welcomed nearly 4,500 Hillsborough County elementary and middle school students, teachers and chaperones.
The win improved the Bulls to 9-3 on the year while the Thundering Herd fall to 5-4.
South Florida shot a season-best 73.3 percent (11-for-15) from the field in the first quarter and used a 13-0 run to take a 25-14 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
The Bulls extended their lead to as many as 12 points in the second quarter, 27-15, on a layup by Fankam Mendjiadeu, just over 30 seconds into the stanza, and then with just over seven minutes left before the break, 32-20, when Maria Alvarez hit her first field goal of the season - a three-pointer - in her first game back from a season-ending knee injury suffered last year. Alvarez finished the game with nine points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field, all coming from behind the arc, and two assists.
After trailing 45-39 at the half, Marshall scored the first seven points of the third quarter to take a one-point 46-45 lead with just over six minutes left in the quarter. South Florida, however, re-grouped and got the lead back to double-digits on a driving layup by Tsineke with just under three minutes left in the quarter. The Bulls did not look back as they extended their lead to as many as 18 points, 74-56, in the fourth quarter on a Carla Brito layup with 3:35 left in the contest.
Notable
Wednesday's starters for the Bulls were: G Elena Tsineke, G Aerial Wilson, G Sammie Puisis, F Carla Brito and F Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu … The Bulls are 8-3 with this lineup.
South Florida's win over Marshall is its first against the Thundering Herd in the series … The series is tied at 1-1.
Wednesday's attendance of 5,573 is the eighth-largest home attendance in program history.
Elena Tsineke's 16 points against Marshall mark her 68th career double-figure scoring game in her 91st career game with the Bulls.
Tsineke also had seven assists tying a career-high.
Maria Alvarez saw her first action of the 2022-23 season on Wednesday against Marshall … Alvarez suffered a season-ending knee injury in the 2021-22 regular-season finale against Houston on March 2.
Priscilla Williams scored a season-high eight points for the Bulls in the win.
Daniela Gonzalez grabbed a career-high eight rebounds to lead the Bulls on the boards for the first time in her career.
Up Next
The Bulls will end their nonconference home schedule on Saturday against La Salle. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. South Florida closes out the nonconference portion of its schedule when they head to the West Coast for the San Diego Invitational, Dec. 20-21, at San Diego City College. The Bulls open the two-game event against current No. 3/4 Ohio State on day one at 6:30 p.m. ET, and then either No. 16/15 Oregon or 21/22 Arkansas on day two.
South Florida begins American Athletic Conference play following the holiday break when it travels to New Orleans to face Tulane on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+), and then returns to the Yuengling Center on Jan. 3 to take on Temple at 5 p.m. (ESPNU).