Nov. 30, 2011
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Once, then twice and again a third time in the second half the basketball was swung from one wing to the other before being skip-passed into the middle of the floor where Kayli Keough stroked one jump shot after another.
Just like that, UCF's turnover issues and struggles offensively faded away with a beautiful brand of textbook basketball.
The UCF women's basketball team (3-3) shook off a rocky first half by connecting on 54 percent in the second half and getting a career-best 23 points from Keough in a 66-49 defeat of Bethune-Cookman (1-4) on Wednesday at UCF Arena.
Keough, a 6-foot-2 junior transfer from Florida State, scored 17 points in the second half by making 7-of-11 shots.
"We knew the middle of the zone would be open and Kayli would have to knock down shots. She does it every day in practice," UCF coach Joi Williams said. "We have a lot of confidence with her shooting from that spot. She played without thinking a lot and that's a good thing. We found her in the seam. ... We didn't do a good job in the first half of reversing the basketball and in the second half that was the difference. Then, we found her in the middle and she knocked down the shot."
UCF was once again without do-everything point guard Aisha Patrick, who was away from the team because of a death in the family. The Knights were without their leading scorer and defensive ace on Saturday against Hartford, and they entered Wednesday's game in must-win mode.
"This game was huge," Keough said. "It was huge for us to show that we're willing to fight back. To go down 0-2 over the weekend, we had to come back tonight and be mad about it and come back and take over as a team."
Keough aggressively sought out shots and was active on the glass to create more offensive looks. When she wasn't hitting spinning shots in the post and mid-range jump shots, she was grabbing six rebounds - three of which came on the offensive end of the floor.
"I was just getting in a rhythm as the game went along," said Keough, who is playing alongside sister, Meghan, on the UCF squad this season. "The coaches have been encouraging me to be aggressive and stay aggressive. I was able to find my spots."
Senior center Racine Davis scored a career-best 10 points off the bench, with all of the points coming in the final eight minutes of the game. She made 6- of-7 free throws and added three rebounds.
Senior forward Ashia Kelly, one of UCF's best shooters last season when it won the Conference USA title and reached the NCAA Tournament, entered the game having missed all seven of her attempts from beyond the arc. But she hit a three-pointer during an 18-5 run to start the second half. She added a second three-pointer with 7:11 to play after Bethune-Cookman had gotten to within 45-37.
"Those were good three-point shots. The other three-point shots that she has taken and we have taken as a team weren't good shots," Williams said. "The reason they were good shots tonight is because the ball got reversed and her feet were set. When that happens, she's able to knock down shots all day. We need her to find the basket a little more and get her confidence up."
UCF led 24-20 at the half in a ragged first 20 minutes for both teams. UCF and Bethune-Cookman combined for 30 turnovers with the Knights kicking the ball away 17 times. The Knights did capitalize on the mistakes that it forced early on, scoring 11 first-half points off turnovers.
"We just talked about at halftime that if it continued like it was we weren't going to win the basketball game," Williams said. "So it was really up to the players to make a decision and take care of the ball. That's what it all boiled down to. Bethune-Cookman stayed in the game because we gave them the ball. We responded at halftime and took better care of it."
UCF plays next at home on Friday against FIU at 7 p.m. The Knights are in the midst of a nine-game homestand. The homestand wraps up on Dec. 18 with a premier game against Virginia Tech and precedes a Dec. 20 game at Notre Dame. The Knights then host Florida State on Dec. 30 before beginning Conference USA play in early January.
Season tickets, which start at only $49 for a fan pack of two, are still available by calling (407) UCF-1000 or by visiting UCFAthletics.com. On gameday, tickets for the contest against the Wildcats will be available at the UCF Arena box office. All UCF students are admitted free with a valid school ID.
John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.