TAMPA, Fla. — The University of South Florida women’s basketball team won its first NCAA Tournament game in five years by defeating Washington State 57-53 in the first round Sunday night.
They will face top-seeded North Carolina State in the Second Round on Tuesday.
USF was led by guard Elena Tsineke’s 18 points to help the Bulls beat the Cougars.
“It’s March Madness. Everybody’s got to give their best play in this sport,” Tsineke said after the game. “This is what really gets me going, it’s my mindset because there’s no way back. You’ve got to just give everything you’ve got, and then it’s over. You have to get something out of it.”
USF will now shoot for the program’s first trip to the Sweet 16 when they face number one N.C. State.
“When there are 32 teams left, regardless of seeding, there are no bad basketball teams,” USF head coach Jose Fernandez said. “If we want to get to where we want to get to and that’s that second weekend, essentially we have to beat a one through four (seed).”
N.C. State is coming off a 79-58 win over N.C. at the A&T Stadium in the first round.
“Tomorrow, we have to be special in all facets,” head coach Jose Fernandez said. “We have to take care of the ball, we have to defend, we have to be solid on the glass. We’ve been solid all year. But, you have to score points to beat these guys. We have to shoot a good number. We have to get to the free-throw line.”
USF and N.C. State tip-off at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
