/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/ZX3WGLVLSRBDLGV7YP4MBMMCAY.JPG "USF women's basketball coach Jose Fernandez earned his 117th career American Athletic Conference triumph Saturday against Memphis, one shy of the league record held by Connecticut's Geno Auriemma.")
The USF women continued their steamroll-style run Saturday through the American Athletic Conference, and put coach Jose Fernandez on the cusp of league history in the process.
Six-foot-4 senior Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu recorded her 18th double double of the season (17 points, 13 rebounds) as the Bulls (20-4, 9-0) held off a late Memphis surge for a 67-62 road triumph. USF clinched the program’s 11th 20-win season, and eighth in the last 11 years.
The victory was Fernandez’s 117th in American Athletic Conference play, one shy of the league record held by Connecticut’s Geno Auriemma, whose program moved back to the reconfigured Big East in 2020. Fernandez can tie the record Tuesday night at home against East Carolina.
The Bulls led by 14 with less than seven minutes to play before Memphis (12-9, 4-4) went on a 13-4 run, capped by Emani Jefferson’s driving layup with 54 seconds remaining. USF held the Tigers to one field goal the rest of the way, getting a pair of free throws from Elena Tsineke (game-high 23 points) down the stretch and a Fankam Mendjiadeu block of a Jefferson layup with 11 seconds to go.
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