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USF Women’s Basketball Head Coach Jose Fernandez Named AAC Coach of the Year; Other Bulls Honored

The AAC champs are well represented in the AAC awards circuit.

By Nathan Bond

South Florida Bulls women’s basketball coach Jose Fernandez was named the AAC coach of the year on Sunday, as voted on by the conference coaches. It’s the second time in three years Fernandez has won the award.

Fernandez has guided the Bulls to their first-ever conference title this year, and secured the No. 1 seed in this week’s AAC tournament. The Bulls went 15-3 in the regular season, including an impressive 12-2 mark in the conference. USF was a perfect 7-0 at home this year.

Junior guard Elisa Pinzan was picked as the most improved player in the conference. Pinzan averaged a career-high 9.6 points per game, as well as an astounding seven assists per game to help pace the Bulls. Her seven APG was good for second in the nation. Pinzan also earned second-team honors for her efforts this year.

Sophomore guard Maria Alvarez was selected as co-sixth player of the year with Reedy Creek’s Alisha Lewis. Alvarez scored 7.8 PPG off the bench for the Bulls as was vital in changing the pace of the game for the Bulls when they needed a big three. Alvarez shot a team-best 39% from behind the arc this year.

Bethy Mununga and Elena Tsienke earned first-team all-AAC honors as they paced the Bulls in scoring and rebounding. respectively.

Mununga was a literal walking double-double for USF as she recorded 11 double-doubles in 18 games this year. She averaged 11.2 PPG, and 12.7 RPG and was a force down the stretch for USF.

Tsineke led the Bulls in scoring, averaging 12.8 PPG. She scored a career-high 31 points in a January win over Wichita State. She scored in double figures ten times in 18 games.

Sydni Harvey, quite possibly the forgotten star of the team, earned third-team honors this year. She scored a season-high 23 points in the overtime win over Cincinnati to help the Bulls get back on track after the COVID break. Harvey averaged 11.2 PPG, tied for second on the team this year.

USF will face the winner of the 8/9 matchup between Wichita State and Tulsa at 3 p.m. on Tuesday in the AAC Tournament. Every game expect the Final will be on ESPN+.