The Bulls’ Quiet Leader, Bethy Mununga, Hopes For a Long Stay in San Antonio
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TV: ESPN2
Kevin Fitzgerald (PxP), Christy Thomaskutty (Color)
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(8) No. 19/18 USF BULLS | 18-3
Last Game: March 11 vs. UCF (W, 64-54)
Next Game: March 23 vs. NC State/NC A&T, TBA (if nec.)
Head Coach: Jose Fernandez
Alma Mater: FIU, 1994
Career Record: 391-275 (21st season)
at USF: Same
(9) WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS | 12-11
Last Game: March 4 vs. Arizona (L, 60-44)
Next Game: March 23 vs. NC State/NC A&T, TBA (if nec.)
Head Coach: Kamie Ethridge
Alma Mater: Texas, 1986
Career Record: 115-96 (Seventh season)
at WSU: 32-52 (Third season)
By Joey Johnston
Special to USF Athletics
Back home in Belgium,
Bethy Mununga's first sport was track and field. She could run. She could jump. She felt fulfilled.
But when her father steered her toward basketball, she felt apprehensive.
"I just didn't want to look ridiculous out on that court,'' Mununga said. "My father basically forced me to play. I wasn't good at scoring, so I had to find something I was good at. How could I help the others to score?
"That's when I started getting good at rebounding. Since that day, my mentality has been simple. Every ball is mine. If I have to jump over somebody, I will do that. I'm not going to be denied.''
That relentless spirit made Mununga, a 6-foot senior forward, a standout for the USF women's basketball program. And it has helped propel the No. 8-seeded Bulls (18-3) into the NCAA Tournament, where they face the No. 9 Washington State Cougars (12-11) in Sunday night's first-round game at Austin, Texas.
Mununga
averages a double-double (10.2 points, 13.2 rebounds). She's second in the NCAA in rebounding and leads the American Athletic Conference. In 50 USF career games, she has 33 double-figure rebounding games, while compiling 20 double-doubles.
"Bethy is not even close to her ceiling,'' Bulls coach
Jose Fernandez said. "With her athleticism, her ability to get it off the glass, her passing, the improved range on her shot … there's a lot there to like.''
And there's a lot to appreciate for Mununga's teammates.
"When you see how much Bethy puts into it and the self-drive she has, it inspires you,'' Bulls senior center
Shae Leverett said.
"She hustles and puts herself in position to rebound,'' Bulls junior guard
Sydni Harvey said. "She has the instincts for it. But mostly, she just outworks everybody else.''
"She's just a beast on the glass,'' Bulls junior point guard
Elisa Pinzan said. "I love playing with her. As the point guard, I love her ability to move without the ball. She's always in the right place. She gives us so much.''
On and off the court.
If you're looking for an apt description of Mununga, it wouldn't be "rebounder.'' It's another word.
Giver.
"Bethy has a unique gift,'' Fernandez said. "She'd rather the person next to her be happy instead of her. She's happiest when she's helping. That's just who she is.''
It might be a pat on the back. It could be a simple check-in. It's usually her ability to listen.
"She has the best smile,'' Leverett said. "When she smiles, you melt. You look at the way she plays and you might think, 'Whoa … intense!' But she's at her best when she's giving, whether it's advice or time or with her listening ear. She's unique.''
"It somebody is not doing good, it affects me,'' Mununga said. "I look after my teammates. If my teammates are good, I am good. I guess that's how I developed in my life. I was like that at an early age.''
Mununga was born in Central Africa in the region now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire). At age one, her family moved to Zellik, Belgium, a suburb on the northwest edge of Brussels. Her primary language is French, but she also speaks English, Dutch and Swahili.
Which made for an interesting culture change when she first arrived in America — at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, where she became a two-time junior-college All-American.
"I learned English in Oklahoma,'' Mununga said. "My first year was crazy. I didn't know much at all. I learned how to speak by being around people, doing my classes, being in the cafeteria. It came slowly.''
Mununga's basketball language was universal. She averaged 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds as a sophomore for the Lady Norse, while leading the nation in field-goal percentage (64.9). There was interest from all around. Fernandez had a connection because he once recruited USF great Inga Orekhova (2011-14) from the same junior college and the same head coach (Jim Roland).
Mununga said she loves USF and relishes playing a leadership role. As the team's oldest player (23), she feels maturity is as big an asset as rebounding.
"There's a big difference between 23 and 18,'' Mununga said. "Shae (Leverett, fellow senior) and I have been through so much to make us the people we are today.
"If there's a situation in a game where we are losing and tied, sometimes you see the eyes of the younger players and they are confused or scared. I want to be that person to look up to. I feel like I have a lot of experiences in my life.''
One of those experiences occurred when Mununga was 12 and she returned to African homeland. She met family members that she didn't know existed. She said her father has "at least'' 15 siblings.
"There might be more,'' Mununga said. "We're not sure. There were so many people in my family. I was just overwhelmed. I think I could walk down the street right now and meet a cousin or an uncle. We're everywhere.
"Going back to Africa was a valuable experience. It's exciting to know where you actually come from.''
It's equally exciting to know where you're headed. Mununga has the Bulls on an upward trajectory. She wants the program to soar even higher. To hear Mununga talk about her team's NCAA Tournament potential, much like her rebounding philosophy, she's not going to be denied.
"I hope we don't come home for a long, long time,'' she said.
