CINCINNATI (AP) — Elena Tsineke scored 28 points, Sammie Puisis added 21, and No. 25 South Florida closed out the regular season with an 85-55 rout of Cincinnati on Wednesday night.
Tsineke made 10 of 14 shots, with 2 of 4 3-pointers, and went 6-for-7 from the free-throw line. Puisis scored all of her points on 7-of-11 3-point shooting. Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had 10 points and nine rebounds, and Carla Brito added 11 rebounds for the Bulls (26-5, 15-1 American Athletic Conference).
Puisis drained three 3-pointers in the final 3:20 of the first quarter as South Florida turned a 14-13 deficit into a 25-16 lead at the end of the period. South Florida added 10 of the first 12 points in the second quarter on the way to a 43-25 halftime lead. Puisis made 5 of 6 3-pointers in the first half and scored 15 points. Tsineke scored 14 points in the half. USF made 8 of 10 3-pointers in the first half, 12 of 21 for the game.
Cincinnati got within 14 points early in the third quarter, but the Bulls kept adding to their lead and it peaked at 67-37 with 9:19 remaining in the fourth period. The lead reached 30 again when Marina Asensio made two free throws with 22 seconds remaining.
Jillian Hayes led the Bearcats (9-20, 2-14) with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bulls will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament that begins on Monday in Fort Worth, Texas. The Bulls have a bye into the quarterfinals.
South Florida won 15 conference games for the second time, matching the 2014-15 team.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
