FORT WORTH, Texas – Completing the double dip that has become common in the conference, top seed USF became the eighth straight team to sweep the regular season and tournament championships in The American following a 64-54 win over in-state rival UCF on Thursday night in the final game of the 2021 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship at Dickies Arena. The No. 20/18 Bulls captured their first conference tournament title in their fifth appearance in an American final under head coach Jose Fernandez and earned an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.
Sydni Harvey was named tournament Most Outstanding Player for USF (18-3) after averaging a team-high 16.0 points per game during the championship. Elena Tsineke, the championship game leading scorer with 22 points, and Bethy Mununga, who set a conference record with 49 championship rebounds, joined Harvey on the All-Tournament Team. UCF (16-4) standouts Diamond Battles and Masseny Kaba also added well deserved nods to the All-Tournament squad.
USF roared out of the gate with a Harvey 3-pointer and Mununga layup for a quick 5-0 lead. UCF tied the contest at 5-5 on a tough layup from Battles in the lane, but Harvey gave the Bulls the edge right back with another 3-pointer (8-5). The Knights took the lead for the first time on a Courtajia Sanders bank off the glass and in at 11-10, but Harvey answered again from long range to wrestle advantage back (13-11). A fourth consecutive 3-ball from Harvey pushed the Bulls farther ahead at 18-11 at the end of the first quarter.
A big basket for Kaba and a charge taken on the other end early in the second quarter provided UCF with a spark down 21-15. Harvey was fouled in the act of shooting beyond the arc and cashed in all three points for USF (24-15), and an Elisa Pinzan swipe and jumper in transition forced a UCF timeout with the Bulls in front 26-15. A triple from distance for Pinzan extended USF’s margin to 12 (29-17) before Tsineke also connected from outside for the 32-17 lead. A great baseline feed from Tsineke up top to Harvey marked the USF guard’s fifth 3-pointer of the half (35-17). UCF nailed a jumper near the buzzer to enter the half with the deficit trimmed to 37-19.
The teams traded buckets to kick off the third quarter before USF put the hammer down. Another 3-pointer for Harvey built the largest lead of the night for the Bulls at 51-27 to force a UCF timeout. UCF embarked on a 10-0 run to cut it down to a 51-37 lead for USF and force a Bulls timeout. Kaba closed the gap further (51-39). The Knights closed the quarter on a 12-0 run in the final 4:55 of the third, holding USF scoreless for a 5:24 stretch to trail by just 12 at 51-39.
Baskets from Sanders and Kaba to open the fourth frame further whittled the lead down to 51-43 and forced another USF timeout. The Bulls ended a scoring drought of over eight minutes on two Pinzan free throws to inch forward once more at 53-45, but UCF persisted with two Battles freebies to make it 53-47. Back-to-back layups from Tsineke cooled the UCF surge and forced a timeout with USF ahead 57-47. In a battle at the line, USF prevailed with Pinzan hitting two shots from the stripe late to push the lead to the final tally.
2021 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship
March 8-11, 2021
Dickies Arena
Fort Worth, Texas
First Round - Monday, March 8
No. 9 Wichita State 76, No. 8 Tulsa 64
No. 7 Cincinnati 78, No. 10 Memphis 67
Quarterfinals - Tuesday, March 9
No. 4 Tulane 83, No. 5 Temple 73
No. 1 USF 48, No. 9 Wichita State 44
No. 2 UCF 53, No. 7 Cincinnati 43
No. 3 Houston 73, No. 6 East Carolina 63
Semifinals - Wednesday, March 10
No. 1 USF 51, No. 4 Tulane 47
No. 2 UCF 61, No. 3 Houston 39
Final - Thursday, March 11
No. 1 USF 64, No. 2 UCF 54
2021 Air Force Reserve American Women’s Basketball Championship All-Tournament Team
Sydni Harvey (USF, Most Outstanding Player)
Elena Tsineke (USF)
Bethy Mununga (USF)
Diamond Battles (UCF)
Masseny Kaba (UCF)