USF Women’s Basketball Knocks Off Central Florida 64-54 to Win the AAC Tournament

The South Florida Bulls women’s basketball team used a hot-shooting first half, and key defensive stops late to win their first-ever AAC Tournament championship on Thursday as they defeated the Central Florida Golden Knights 64-54 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Junior guard Sydni Harvey scored 18 first half points on her way to being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. She finished with 22 points, three rebounds, and three assists.

Everyone knew Central Florida would make their run, and they did with a 16-0 that spanned over ten minutes between the third and fourth quarter to trim the USF lead to six. But, Elena Tsineke finally answered with back-to-back layups to push the lead back to 10, and the Bulls never looked back.

The Bulls were 7-for-12 in the first quarter, including four three’s to help set the tone for the game. It was a long time coming for the Bulls after struggling to shoot the ball well all tournament. USF shot 48% from the field in the first half, and hit eight three’s to take a 37-19 lead into the break.

Bethy Mununga grabbed 16 rebounds, and in the process broke the AAC Tournament record for most rebounds with 49. She was named to the All-Tournament team along with Harvey, and Tsineke.

Tsineke finished with a game-high 23 points—15 in the second half.

USF will find out their seed, and who they’ll play in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Monday.

Congratulations to the Bulls.