Women’s basketball extends win streak to six over New Hampshire

Freshman guard Carla Brito shot 6-of-6 from the free throw line in Tuesday’s win over New Hampshire. ORACLE PHOTO/ALEXANDRA URBAN

USF women’s basketball picked up its sixth consecutive victory Tuesday night with a 75-67 win over New Hampshire at the Yuengling Center.

The Bulls begin the season with a 6-0 record, the first time this feat has been accomplished since 2015, when South Florida ended up advancing all the way to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

Freshman guard Carla Brito and senior forward Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu continued their stellar play after being named AAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week and AAC Freshman of the Week, respectively.

Brito capped off a career night with 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Guard Sammie Puisis added 11 points of her own, eight of which came in the first quarter.

Fankam Mendjiadeu continued her impressive senior season with a double-double, racking up 15 points and 12 rebounds.

New Hampshire (2-3) was contained all night, shooting 37% from the field and 60% from the free throw line.

The Bulls continued their strong offensive start to the season, shooting 50% from the floor in their fourth double-digit victory.

After receiving five votes in last week’s AP Top 25 poll, South Florida is looking to make their way into the rankings with an undefeated record two weeks into the season.

Despite the win, coach Jose Fernandez remained adamant to correct the teams’ miscues. The Bulls committed 20 turnovers, nine of which came by traveling violations.

Fernandez focused on improving the play of his team heading into a tough stretch of matchups, including road games against ranked Texas and N.C. State.

“A lot of people would like to be in the position we’re in right now … But I am not happy with how we played today,” Fernandez said.

USF begins a three-game slate at Hertz Arena in Fort Myers, where the Bulls will take on Georgia Tech to open up the Gulf Coast Showcase.

Fernandez insists on his team continuously working on its game moving forward, including fixing up their turnover mistakes.

“At one point or another, if you don’t fix it, it’s going to catch up with you,” he said.

The Bulls will kick off the Gulf Coast Showcase on Friday at 7:30 p.m. against Georgia Tech. The game will be streamed on FloHoops and broadcast on BullsUnlimited.