Sammie Puisis scores 23 points, Mputu adds 17 to help South Florida top No. 9 Duke women 65-56
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Sammie Puisis scored nine of her 23 points in the final seven minutes to help South Florida hold off ninth-ranked Duke for a 65-56 victory on Saturday.
L’or Mputu had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls (7-6), who led by as many as 23 in the first half. Duke (10-3) whittled away at the deficit, pulling within 42-39 on Taina Mair’s 3-pointer in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. USF also got 10 points apiece from Vittoria Blasigh and Carla Brito.
Toby Fournier led Duke with 11 points and eight rebounds, but the cold-shooting Blue Devils fell behind 20-6 after one quarter. They trailed 33-10 before scoring the last five points of the first half and nine of the first 12 in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 36-24. It was 42-36 heading into the fourth quarter after Reigan Richardson’s three-point play and a pair of free throws from Mair cut USF’s lead to single digits.
Takeaways
Duke never led, missing five of its first seven shots and turning the ball over three times as USF sprinted to a 20-4 lead. USF improved to 7-1 at home, with the lone loss coming against Vanderbilt. The Bulls knocked off a ranked opponent for the first time since beating Arkansas in December 2022.
Key stat
Puisis made six of nine from the field, including all three of her 3-pointers. She also went eight for eight from the foul line. Duke shot 23.5 percent from behind the three-point line (4-17), 38.9 percent overall.
Key moment
Just when it looked like Duke might make another push down the stretch, Puisis made a long, uncontested 3-pointer for a 60-48 lead with just over two minutes left.
Up next
Duke: Resumes Atlantic Coast Conference play at Boston College on Jan. 2.
South Florida: Hosts Charlotte in American Athletic Conference opener on Jan. 1.
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