TAMPA, Fla. – Jose Fernandez’s team is not the least bit fazed going up against eight-time national champ Tennessee, which has received a bid to all 43 NCAA women’s hoops tournaments. After all, his team is pretty darn good as well, and the coach has never been bashful about scheduling the game’s best.
“A lot of grit, a lot of togetherness, and the locker room is great,” he said, when asked why the No. 12 seed Bulls can succeed in the tournament, which tips off against the No. 5 seed Lady Vols in Columbus on Friday at 8 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN. “We played a very, very tough non-conference schedule and I think it showed in Fort Worth.”
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Fernandez was referring to three wins in as many days against Tulane, North Texas and Rice to win the American Conference tourney. He was also referring to a stacked non-conference slate that included ranked UConn, Louisville, TCU, South Carolina and Duke. The Bulls defeated the ACC champion Blue Devils, 65-56, at the Yuengling Center in December.
In other words, overlook USF at your peril.
“We have gone through so many ups and downs this season, which I think really bonded us,” said guard Sammie Puisis, who certainly knows about ups and downs during a career in which she is averaging 15.3 points and was limited to one game last season thanks to a torn ACL. “We are excited, but we played these types of teams in November and December, so I think we are prepared and ready to go. (The Duke win) gives us confidence to know we can play with these types of teams.”
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Not that the Bulls needed to defeat the Blue Devils or any of the other ranked teams they faced to convince anyone that they belong on the dance floor. Certainly, not themselves.
“I knew all along this was a tournament team and that is why we scheduled the way we scheduled in November and December,” said Fernandez, who has now led the program to each of its 10 NCAA appearances, including nine in the last 13 years.
Regardless of how many times Fernandez has taken his Bulls to the dance in his 25 years in Tamopa, one thing is for sure.
“It doesn’t get old,” he said. “It will be fun. Looking forward to it.”
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