Photo by Kendall Bulkiewicz | The Crow’s Nest
By Kendall Bulkiewicz
The USF women’s basketball team recovered from back-to-back losses in a convincing performance on Saturday night, beating Florida Atlantic 85-59 at the Yuengling Center.
“This was a must-win,” head coach Jose Fernandez said. “In conference play, you’ve got to protect your home floor as much as possible..”
Junior forward Carla Brito paced the team with a double-double of 14 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. Graduate guard Sammie Puisis added 15 points, knocking down five 3-pointers for her 12th game this season with three or more triples. Senior forward L’or Mputu chipped in with 13 points, and graduate guard Mama Dembele finished with 10.
“I thought [Brito] had a really, really good game. She was just three assists away from a triple-double,” Fernandez said.
The Bulls’ success was driven by its defensive pressure, forcing 18 turnovers and converting them into 26 points. The Bulls also dominated in the paint and on the boards, rebounding their way to second-chance opportunities.
Fernandez pointed out that the team took much better shots and moved the ball a lot better.
“We didn’t force shots tonight. We moved the ball really well and took better, high-percentage ones,” he said.
The Bulls outscored FAU 19-7 in the third quarter, building an 18-point lead that they never gave up. Puisis was a key contributor in that span, scoring nine of her 15 points to help pad the margin.
The women’s game against Tulane has been postponed due to severe winter weather conditions. Their next game will be against East Carolina University on Jan. 25 at 4:00 p.m.
