April 9, 2013
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By Ben Schulman
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF played several tough opponents throughout the season in both the Conference USA and non-conference schedules. The Knights saved their best play for last, with a magical run in the conference tournament that landed them in the title game for the third time in five years. The team preserved through several injuries to still win 16 games. Out of the 16 victories, five stood out over the others. Here is a look at the top-5 victories of the season.
5. History Made Over the Holidays
UCF 64, Mississippi State 56
In the program's history, UCF never had beaten a team from the SEC (0-44), however that all changed in the final game at the Hardwood Tournament of Hope in Mexico. UCF never trailed, racing out to an early 11-0 advantage in the first five minutes. Gevenia Carter paced the Knights with 17 points. UCF's lead got as big as 16 points with 13:11 left in the game. Although Mississippi State got within five points with 2:19 left in the contest, the Knights iced the game with free throws.
4. First Road Win Ends Streak
UCF 60, Florida Gulf Coast 53
Florida Gulf Coast entered the game with a 16-game home winning streak, the ninth-best such streak in the country. After 40 minutes, the streak was all over as the Knights picked up their first road win of the year. The contest was back and forth, until UCF took the lead for good on a layup by Briahanna Jackson with 3:33 left in the game. The Knights had balanced scoring with three players in double figures and Jackson led the way with 18 points. UCF did a good job on the glass by outrebounding Florida Gulf Coast 45-34 and crashing the boards with 15 offensive rebounds. The Knights had been winless in three previous meetings against the Eagles. At the time of the game, Florida Gulf Coast was ranked No. 9 in the Collegeinsider.com Women's Basketball Mid-Major top-25 poll.
3. Magical Run Continues
UCF 89, UTEP 77
In this semifinal victory, UCF etched its name in the C-USA record books by scoring the most points in a semifinal game in tournament history. Trailing 47-44 early in the second half, UCF went on a 12-0 run and never looked back. Prior to the run, the game was tied eight times and had 10 lead changes. Six Knights scored in double figures, led by Briahanna Jackson with 18 points. Kayli Keough (17 points), Sara Djassi (17 points), Gevenia Carter (16 points), Erika Jones (11 points) and Andrea Hines (10 points) were the other Knights who scored in double-figures. Djassi recorded her first career double-double adding 10 rebounds. In the first half, UCF scored 40 points. The last time the Knights scored that many points in the first half was almost two years ago.
2. Streak Busters Strike Again
UCF 59, Bowling Green 56
Down 15 points with just under 12 minutes left in the game at Bowling Green, UCF started one of its patented comeback. The Knights started to chip away at the lead, cutting it down to 10 points with five minutes remaining. A basket from Gevenia Carter started a 16-3 run to finish the contest. With 1:02 left, Carter hit a three-pointer to give UCF the lead 56-53. Bowling Green came into the contest riding a six-game winning streak and had knocked off No. 14/15 Dayton in its previous game. Carter scored a game-high 21 points and recorded her first 20-point game of the season. UCF hit a season-best eight 3-pointers (8-of-16).
1. Nothing to Lose
UCF 70, SMU 66
Coming off a win in the opening round of the conference tournament against Houston, UCF was prepared to face top-seed SMU. UCF overcame a 10-point deficit to pull off the upset and became the third eight seed all-time to advance to the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament and the first since 2001. Briahanna Jackson led the Knights in the second half, scoring 16 of her 18 points. Three of Jackson's 3-pointers were part of a run that helped put the Knights up by three with six minutes left. Two moments in the game were historic for UCF. The first came with 4:31 left in the first half when Gevenia Carter knocked down a 3-pointer to boost herself into UCF's top-10 career scorers list. Jackson registered four steals in the game, which brought her total for the season to 105, breaking a 25-year-old program record for most steals in a single season.