Photos by Dominic Ceraldi
No. 2 South Florida outscored No. 7 Memphis 18-8 in the fourth quarter on the way to a 63-53 victory in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship Tuesday, March 8 at Dickies Arena.
With the win, South Florida (23-7) will play the winner of No. 6 Houston and No. 3 Tulane in the semifinals on Wednesday, March 9 at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
With the game tied at 45 to start the fourth quarter, South Florida’s Elena Tsineke made a layup to give South Florida the lead. The two teams’ defenses stepped up with neither team scoring again until it was Tsineke with another layup with 4:49 remaining. The Bulls never trailed in the fourth.
Tsineke led South Florida with a game-high 22 points, while Bethy Mununga recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Jamirah Shutes led the Tigers (16-12) with 16 points, while Madison Griggs added 14.
Memphis led 27-25 at halftime. The Tigers led 43-37, but the Bulls closed the third quarter on an 8-2 run to tie and send the game to the fourth quarter at 45-45.
It was the second time the two teams have faced off in the Championship, with South Florida winning in the 2015 quarterfinals, 79-51.
