USF Athletics

'American Dream' a Reality for Rebounding Machine Mununga

March 05, 2020

NEXT EVENT : The American Women's Basketball Championship
USF SCHEDULE: Quarterfinals vs. No. 5 Tulane or No. 12 Tulsa, Saturday at noon (ESPN3)
LOCATION: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn.
POSTSEASON UPDATES: Twitter @USFWBB
 
 
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, MARCH 5, 2020 – Whether it's crashing the boards, cutting to the hoop for a tough basket, or calmly handling team "mom" duties, Bethy Mununga is doing a little bit of everything in her first run with the Bulls.

"This is the American dream," said the 6-foot standout from Belgium. "It was my goal to be here, and here I am. I'm just trying to pursue my dream and to be the best version of myself."

Mununga's drive to be a productive Bull – and pro basketball player in the future - has the high-motor forward heading to the postseason with plenty of notable accomplishments.

The junior's regular-season resume includes 16 double-digit rebounding games, the second-most boards in the league (271, 10.0 per game), 9.6 points per outing, a team-leading nine double-doubles and 25 block shots (0.9 per game, ninth in AAC).

"We expected that she was gonna come in and make an immediate impact," head coach Jose Fernandez said. "… I'm excited about her finishing off the year on a great note and her having a great spring and summer to catapult her to finishing off with a great senior year next year."

Run, Bethy, Run
Born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mununga spent most of her life in Belgium, where she was eventually convinced about basketball by dad, Hali-Ambroise.

Starting her athletic career as a tennis player, Mununga utilized her athleticism in track and field for two years before her family moved to another city that didn't have a club for her to compete.

About a year away from competitive sports was tough for Mununga, who was itching to be active once again.

"At the time, my younger brother was playing basketball and it influenced me," she said. "My dad was like, 'OK, just try. You never know.'"

Mununga, who was a tall 13-year-old at the time, didn't initially like the sport and wanted to quit early in her first season.

"When I started to play basketball, I couldn't play. Even dribbling the basketball, I couldn't," she said. "My dad told me that I need to find at least one or two things I could perfect and make an impact with that in every game."

Thanks to her experience in track, speed and endurance were skills Mununga knew she could showcase on the court while following her dad's valuable "just run for an easy basket" advice.

Persistence paid off.

Just a few months into her hoops career, Mununga was invited to practice with Belgium's national select team.

"I was like, 'Hold on. I just started to play, and I can't even dribble, and the national team is calling me,'" she said with a laugh.

Dad was scared for her, but Mununga wanted to try.

"This is how everything started," she said.

Following her impressive workouts, numerous clubs came calling and Mununga caught on with an academy that helped show her the way to America, where she could both play and pursue an education.

"I'm really using basketball to achieve some things I couldn't do before," she said.

Mununga Makes Her Move to USA
Mununga got a life-changing opportunity when Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College offered her a scholarship that totally shocked dad.

"He thought I was playing with him and then I showed him the papers," she said. "He was like, 'Oh, no, she's serious.' He was so surprised. He called everybody."

Proud Hali-Ambroise has had lots more to brag about after Mununga's successful stint with Belgium at the 2017 FIBA U20 Women's European Championship (9.7 points, 9.9 rebounds per game).

While progressively learning to speak English at a high level in America, Mununga's game reached incredible heights in junior college ball. As a freshman, she earned NJCAA All-America honors and did it again as a sophomore, averaging 17.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and leading the nation in field goal percentage (64.9) during the 2018-19 season.

By then, dribbling skills were solid for a player who became much more than a fast-break phenom.

"Last year, the players in the conference knew me," she said. "They knew I would run, so they would try to block me. That's when I had to learn how to keep the ball alive."

Now, Mununga is making things happen in numerous ways for the Bulls heading into another postseason for the program. First up is The American Women's Basketball Championship in Uncasville, Conn., where fourth-seeded USF has a first-round bye before a quarterfinals test Saturday at noon.

Mununga is ready to do what she's done since signing with USF, and her skills will be very valuable in crunch time.

"When we recruited her, she fit exactly what we needed," Fernandez said. "Somebody who can defend several positions, finish around the rim and just be relentless on the glass on both ends of the floor."

Young Bulls Bringing Out 'Little Bethy'
Despite being a first-year Bull, Mununga has taken it upon herself to help guide a young USF roster that includes five freshmen and eight total underclassmen.

Leadership goes well beyond the court.

"If I have problems, she's the first one to come to my room and say, 'Hey, what's going on? Are you OK?" freshman wing Cristina Bermejo said. "I'm so grateful."

Mununga has had a motherly nature pretty much her entire life because she had to grow up quickly to fill an unfortunate family void.

At age 3, Mununga lost her mother, Patience, just a couple weeks after giving birth to her younger brother, Daniel, due to surgical complications of a C-section procedure.

"Whenever they sewed her back, they forgot something in her stomach, basically," said Mununga. "…When it was time for them to decide who would do the (next) surgery, who would be the team in charge of it, she just passed out."

Mununga made sure she stepped up in the household as soon as she could.

"I started so early, I can't even remember," she said. "When I saw my dad and he was really tired because of work, I would take care of my brother. I would say, 'OK, daddy, I got you.'"

Years later, Hali-Ambroise remarried and Mununga's circle has grown with another brother and two sisters, ranging from ages 12 to 3.

Now more than 4,500 miles away from her immediate family, Mununga continues to be a caring figure for her USF basketball sisters.

"I didn't receive the love of a mother, so I'm just giving my love to people," she said.

Independent and mature since an early age, Mununga appreciates younger Bulls for returning the favor and reminding her about the fun in things.

"I didn't have the time to be a child," she said. "Sometimes, the little Bethy inside of me wants to express herself."

Mununga has had no problem doing that since fitting right in with the program.

Her game speaks for itself.

"When you feel comfortable, you're just free to play," she said.
 
About USF Women's Basketball
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USF notched its eighth consecutive 19-win season and eighth straight postseason appearance in 2018-19. The Bulls celebrated two all-conference honorees in Enna Pehadzic and Sydni Harvey.
 
USF has made 15 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez's 19 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to nine 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 350 games.