Mununga, No. 23 South Florida top Syracuse in Bahamas
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Bethy Mununga had a season high 18 points with 12 rebounds to help No. 23 South Florida beat Syracuse 77-53 in Saturday's first round of the women's Battle 4 Atlantis.
The Bulls (3-1) advanced to Sunday’s semifinals to face No. 2 Connecticut, which beat Minnesota in Saturday’s opener and first game of the inaugural women’s tournament at the Atlantis resort.
Mununga hadn't scored in double figures for any of the first three games, but the 6-foot senior had 12 points by halftime. Last year's No. 3 rebounder in Division I (12.9) also had secured her 10th rebound for a double-double by midway through the third quarter.
Sydni Harvey and Elena Tsineke each added 17 points for South Florida. The Bulls also shot 50% after halftime after a cold-shooting start, while they also finished with a 50-30 advantage on the glass that created a 22-2 advantage in second-chance points.
Christianna Carr scored 14 points to lead the Orange (2-2), who will face the Golden Gophers in Sunday's consolation bracket. Syracuse shot just 37% and made 7 of 27 3-pointers (26%).
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