South Florida punches ticket to March Madness. photo by Don Mooney
FORT WORTH, Texas – March. 12, 2025 – No. 3 South Florida (23-10) defeated No. 9 Rice (17-17), 69-62, in the 2025 American Women’s Basketball Championship final on Wednesday evening, March 12, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. This is South Florida’s second American Athletic Conference Championship win, becoming the second team in conference history to win multiple tournament titles (UConn, 7). With the win, the Bulls (23-10) earns The American’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is scheduled for Sunday, March 16 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Photo by Art Boone Jr
Sussy Ngulefac led the Owls with 19 points, seven rebounds, three blocks, three steals and an assist, while Malia Fisher added 17 points, six rebounds, one assist and one steal. Dominique Ennis finished with 14 points, three rebounds, one steal and one block. As a team, Rice shot 27-of-62 (43.5%) and 2-of-16 (12.5%) from three-point range. The Owls were 6-of-8 (75%) from the free throw line.
South Florida grabbed the game’s first basket before Ngulefac had the counter with a layup. Down by eight, back-to-back Ngulefac scores brought the Owls within four points. After Haliey Adams cut the Rice deficit to two points, another quick run extended the Bull lead to eight. Rice trailed 18-12 at the end of the first.
Fifth-year senior Sammie Puisis scores over Rice defense. photo by Art Boone jr
Ennis opened the scoring before South Florida countered to push its lead to 15 points. Still down the same amount, Ngulefac and Victoria hit back-to-back shots to get within 11 points. After a Bulls score, Fisher hit a pair of baskets as the Owls trailed 51-42 at the end of the third.
South Florida punches ticket to the big dance. photo by Don Mooney
Alexis got the offense started in the fourth, with free throws later bringing the Owls within five. A quick run gave the Bulls a 10-point lead, with Ennis hitting a three to get within seven. Adams and Fisher later cut the deficit to five, but time would ultimately run out for the Owls and South Florida held on to win.
The Bulls shot 50 percent (7-14) from the floor in the first quarter, with Championship Most Outstanding Player Carla Brito leading the team with seven of the 18 points scored.
After trailing as many as 15 points in the third quarter, the Owls (17-17) cut the deficit to six points with 9:11 remaining in the game but could not get any closer. This is Rice’s first loss in the American Championship, moving to 7-1 all-time,