In women’s basketball in the American Athletic Conference, all roads still run through South Florida.
Jose Fernandez’s Bulls have claimed two of the last four regular season titles in the conference and have gone to the NCAA Tournament in eight of the last 12 seasons. And in five of those appearances in the Big Dance, USF has advanced to the second round, beating major conference opponents from Texas Tech and LSU to Washington State and Marquette.
In 17 of the last 20 seasons, USF has won at least 19 games. Since joining the American ahead of the 2013-14 campaign, USF has posted double-digit conference victories in all but one season.
So, for the rest of the teams in the AAC, the bullseye is on the Bulls. They are the target. They are the hunted. They are going to get everyone’s best punch. That was true on Saturday in Greenville, North Carolina, where East Carolina took a one-point lead with 4.1 seconds to play on a 3-pointer from Jayla Hearp.
But the Bulls didn’t quit. During a timeout, Fernandez drew up SLOB (sidelines-out-of-bounds) play that put the ball in the hands of sophomore Vittoria Blasigh.
“Out of all our perimeter players, I thought she was the one that was really able to get downhill and played well,” Fernandez said. “East Carolina kept us off balance with their 3-2 zone, with their man (defense), with their switching. It wasn’t our best game. But winning on the road is tough.”
Blasigh grabbed the pass, spun around and raced away from her defender, drove along the baseline, gathered and lofted up a shot that was just out of reach for an outstretched Pirate. The ball kissed the glass, took a friendly bounce off the front iron, and then fell softly through the net.
The bench erupted, Blasigh jumped into the arms of her teammates, and with 1.1 seconds left, the Bulls locked-in on defense to deny ECU a last-chance look at the basket. USF, behind 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from Blasigh, won in Minges Coliseum. After the buzzer, Sammie Puisis connected on a pair of free throws to make the final score 63-60.
“I’m going to drive it and try to score, and that’s what happened,” Blasigh told For The Win. “I’m just so proud of my team, like they really found me on the corner. My teammates just found me every time.”
VICKY!!!!!
📺https://t.co/TbwB9Bxz0h#HornsUp 🤘 | #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/cdRdkhtSnG
— USF Women’s Basketball (@USFWBB) January 25, 2025
In a physical game where both teams traded stonewall screens, hard boxouts and scrappy battles for the ball, forward L’or Mputu played an important role for USF too, collecting 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds and two blocks. But for Blasigh, it was one of her best games. Last season’s AAC Rookie of the Year made at least eight field goals in a game for the third time this season, and also added three rebounds, two steals and an assist.
A spark was lit under her midway through the first quarter by Fernandez. With 3:31 to play in the opening frame and the score tied 10-10, Blasigh caught the ball in the corner, but hesitated as a defender moved towards her. She was whistled for a travel and Fernandez yelled out to her, “Shoot the ball!”
On the Bulls next possession, Blasigh obliged, swishing a 3-pointer from the right wing off a feed from Carla Brito. It was the first of a trio of shots the Italian would connect on from behind the arc, and a highlight of a 17-9 run that helped USF take an early lead.
“He always tries to give me confidence every day,” Blasigh says of Fernandez. “Sometimes on my 3-point shot I’m like, maybe I should shoot, maybe I shouldn’t. But he’s a great coach.”
In four photos, Vittoria Blasigh’s game-winning shot for @USFWBB at ECU: pic.twitter.com/1c6fM0rqor
— Mitchell Northam (@primetimeMitch) January 26, 2025
The Bulls are now 13-8 on the season and 6-2 in AAC play. Fernandez put together one of the most challenging non-conference slates in the country for his team, pitting them against the likes of UConn, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Mississippi State, TCU, South Carolina and Duke, all squads that will likely hear their names called on Selection Sunday. USF has played six Quad 1 games, and no other team in the American has played more than two. USF is also the highest ranked AAC team in HerHoopStats ratings.
After losing six of those games to major conference opponents – four of which were ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll for their respective matchups – USF pulled off an upset over then-ranked No. 9 Duke, beating the Blue Devils by nine points down in Tampa. It provided some proof of concept and gave the Bulls a spark as they went on to win six games in a row. The Bulls then lost two games – at North Texas and home to UAB – by an average of four points. The victory over ECU marks their second straight triumph and is what the team hopes to be the beginning of another winning streak.
“We lost two games we shouldn’t have,” Blasigh said. “We got to work on our defense.”
What the win over ECU showed more than anything is that the Bulls are capable of winning in different ways, and doing so in an ugly and gritty fashion if needed. USF is 26th in the nation in 3-point shooting at 36.2 percent, but made just 4-of-12 deep shots against the Pirates.
It wound up not mattering. The Bulls – who are 19th nationally in steals per game with 5.8 – swiped the ball from ECU six times and forced 12 turnovers in all. And then USF was sharp from the charity stripe, knocking down 13-of-15 shots from the foul line.
“I just wish we were more consistent, all the way across the board. We need everyone to play well for us. It can’t just be Vittoria and Sammie and Romi Levy. If all three of those guys play well, look what we can do. We showed it against Duke,” Fernandez said. “We’re going to get a battle every night, just because of the success that we’ve had. We’ve won in this league for a very long time… We need more guys to put the ball in the basket.”
The victory for USF puts them third in the standings in the American, with North Texas and UTSA ahead of them. But the target remains on the Bulls. They were picked to win this league in the preseason. They’re battled tested. They are the standard in the American.
And so, when UTSA comes to town on Wednesday, the Roadrunners will be throwing their best punches. And Fernandez’s Bulls will be ready.
