A close first quarter quickly turned into a blowout that ended South Florida’s dance in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
Tennessee used its advantage in size, depth and 3-point shooting in a 101-66 victory over USF in a first-round game Friday night in Columbus, Ohio.
The Volunteers held a 26-25 lead after the first period, which included four ties and six lead changes. But they outscored the Bulls 29-9 in the second quarter to grab control.
“The first quarter was probably really fun to watch on TV, and then you’ve got to hand it to Tennessee,” USF coach Jose Fernandez said. “They shot the ball really well. We’re down one point after a quarter and we had 10 turnovers. When we go into halftime, it’s 16. That’s really tough. You’re giving a very good offensive team extra possessions.”
Tennessee forced 24 turnovers, while the Vols committed just six. Tennessee held a 36-10 edge in points off turnovers.
The Vols, who had lost three of their last four, had a 54-3 advantage off the bench.
“Our team is at our best when we are playing as a team,” first-year Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell said. “We were able to get something from everyone. I think we had fun. It was a really good stepping stone for us. We had been a little bit off track, and so we needed to kind of get our juice back.”
The Volunteers (23-9), the No. 5 seed in the regional, were led by Talaysia Cooper with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. Samara Spencer’s 15 points included going 3-for-3 on 3-pointers during the decisive second period.
Tennessee, which has reached each of 43 NCAA tournaments, advances to play No. 4 seed and host Ohio State (26-6) on Sunday. The winner will move on to the Birmingham 3 Regional. Tennessee will be going for its 37th Sweet 16 berth and first since 2023.
The 12th-seeded Bulls (23-11) dropped to 5-10 all-time in NCAA action. This was USF’s 10th NCAA berth and fourth in the last five years.
“We just turned our pressure up,” Spencer said of the Vols’ second quarter success. “We knew coming into the game that they really only had one solid ballhandler who was comfortable handling the ball. So, we made her turn the ball over some, and then we just made other people have to dribble the ball up the court. That was to our advantage.”
The Vols eventually built their lead as high as 35 points in the fourth quarter. They shot 50% from the floor and 43% on 3-pointers (16 of 37).
“We’ve had to guard people who have multiple people who can shoot, and sometimes we have a hard time doing that,” Spencer said. “So I know for other people who have to play us, it’s really hard. And especially, we have a lot of people who shoot very high percentages.”
Sammie Puisis, in her last college game, had 28 points and seven rebounds for USF. Her five 3-pointers tied the Bulls’ single-game NCAA tournament record.
Puisis was a first-team all-ACC selection this year after missing all but one game last season with a knee injury.
“This year, it was really special,” a tearful Puisis said after the game. “I’m just so glad I was able to come back because some people have tough injuries and it kind of takes them out of it. So I’m just really grateful for my teammates and coaches and getting to play on a big stage like this again.”
Senior L’or Mputu added 12 points for the Bulls, who had won 12 of their last 14, including the American Athletic Conference tournament championship game.
This was Tennessee’s 164th all-time NCAA Tournament game. The Vols set new school records for made 3s (16) and attempted 3s (37) in an NCAA tournament game. Tennessee’s season total of 328 made 3s is also a new Southeastern Conference single-season record.
The NCAA Women's Final Four will be at Tampa's Amalie Arena on April 4-6. Click here for information on tickets and the week's activities in Tampa.
