USF women shake off struggles, rally for road win

WICHITA, Kan. — Elisa Pinzan made a tiebreaking free throw with 1.5 seconds left, and USF overcame a 13-point first-half deficit and poor shooting to beat Wichita State 47-46 Thursday night for the second time in three days.

Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu finished with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, the only USF player in double figures in either category.

The Bulls (20-7, 10-3 AAC), who won their third straight overall, defeated the Shockers 61-57 Tuesday at the Yuengling Center. They’ve now reached 20 wins for the 10th time in program history, all under coach Jose Fernandez.

USF shot just 28.1 percent (16-of-57) from the floor and 18.2 (4-of-22) from 3-point range. Fortunately for the Bulls, they got to the free-throw line 22 times, though only making 11. Wichita State was 9-of-11 (81.8 percent) from the line.

USF trailed 30-17 with 44 seconds left in the second quarter. Fankam Mendjiadeu’s layup cut it to 30-19 going into halftime. But in the third quarter the Bulls held the Shockers (13-14, 4-10) to one field goal on 1-for-14 shooting, and 0-for-3 from beyond the arc, cutting the deficit to 32-28 going into the fourth.

The Bulls used a 14-4 run to start the quarter and take a 42-36 lead after Maria Alvarez’s 3-pointer with 6:20 left. But Wichita State rallied, eventually tying it at 46 on two free throws by Trajata Colbert with 10 seconds left.

USF played for the last shot, but Seraphine Bastin was called for a foul on Pinzan in the final seconds. Pinzan made the first free throw but missed the second and time ran out.

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