Bulls beat Shockers to remain undefeated in conference play
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USF fans have reason to celebrate tonight as the Bulls have won their seventh game in a row.
Sophomore point guard Elena Tsineke led the way for the Bulls (8-1, 5-0) from the start in their 66-48 victory over Wichita State (3-5, 0-3) in the Yuengling Center on Wednesday.
“[It] starts from the beginning of the day, you have to fix your mindset,” Tsineke said postgame. “Having confidence and trust I will work hard to be the best for my team.”
Tsineke dropped a career-high 31 points as she shot 11 of 16 from the field and 5 of 8 from behind the three-point line.
Tsineke’s performance is USF’s first 30-point game from a single player since the 2018-19 season and the 60th all-time in the program’s history.
4:53 4Q | @ETsineke is done for the night with a career high 31 points. It's USF's first 30-point game since the 2018-19 season, and the 60th all-time in program history. Bulls lead 60-39.
— USF W. Basketball (@USFWBB) January 7, 2021
Tsineke started her career night early as she landed seven of 12 points for USF in the first quarter. She then dropped eight in the second and gave an encore with 14 more in the second half.
Her previous career best was a 25-point performance against Temple in February of last season. Her performance tonight also accounted for over 40% of the Bulls’ total score.
Forward Bethy Mununga contributed to the win with a game-high eight total rebounds and eight points including a jump shot that fed into the Bulls lead in the fourth quarter.
“I just think we really moved the ball today,” Tsineke said. “That when we move the ball [it] gets the confidence up and that was the key thing for me today. Just really moving the ball and getting open shots. And then everybody can create for themselves as well.”
After the first quarter, the Bulls kept a nine point lead throughout most of the game. They were able to lock down Wichita State defensively as they shot a dismal 14 of 48 (29%) from the field and 4 of 15 (27%) from three. The Shockers’ largest lead of the night was an early 2-0 advantage which they held in the first quarter.
“I will never stop believing in us,” Tsineke said. “We always come through harder and harder, the wins don’t matter to us. We’re just going to try and do our best to help the team. No matter how big the streak.”
On Saturday the Bulls will take on the Temple Owls (3-3, 3-0) who are currently on a three-game win streak. Coach Jose Fernandez said although accolades were reached tonight, they can still improve their game and work harder on and off the court.
“We have to continue to do a great job in practice and with our focus and with our preparation,” Fernandez said.