No. 12 seed South Florida (23-11) fell to No. 5 seed Tennessee (23-9), 101-66, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Value City Arena on Friday night.
Graduate guard Sammie Puisis (28 points, five 3-pointers) knocked down three or more 3-pointers for the 19
th game this season. Senior forward L'or Mputu (12 points) recorded double-digit points for the 14
th time this season.
The Lady Vol's were led by Talaysia Cooper with 20 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
The Bulls finished the first frame down a single point to Tennessee, 26-25. Then the Lady Vols outscored the Bulls, 33-9, from the start of the second quarter to the 8:43 minute mark of the third stanza, and Tennessee led 59-34. The Bulls' deficit grew as high as 31 points in the fourth frame.