Dec. 27, 2014
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By Jenna Marina
UCFKnights.com
HOUSTON, Texas (UCFKnights.com) - History repeated itself Saturday for the UCF women's basketball team at Hofheinz Pavilion. For the second year in a row, the Knights won their American Athletic Conference opener on the road at Houston, this time with a 64-50 decision.
UCF rallied from a 3-point halftime deficit to earn its first road win of the year. The Knights (5-7, 1-0 American) extended their win streak in the series over Houston (5-7, 0-1 American) to five straight Saturday.
UCF saw huge performances off the bench from senior Yanique Gordon (17 points, 12 rebounds) and freshman Fifi Ndour (10 points, 13 rebounds), who each recorded her first-career double-double. Freshman Aliyah Gregory netted her third-straight game of double digits with 11 points.
"Heading into conference, we just treated today like a new season," Gregory said. "We weren't worried about what happened during non-conference. We just wanted to get the win today and start off 1-0."
The Knights used an 11-1 run early to take a 16-8 lead on Houston. From there, Houston went on a 7-0 stretch of its own when Marshae Anderson's nothing-but-net 3-pointer sparked the spurt that closed the gap, 16-15, with nine minutes to play.
The Cougars made good on their opportunities from the free throw line to claim a 26-24 lead, but Ndour came up with a big offensive rebound and handed it off to Gordon for an easy layup that tied the game with 24 seconds to play.
Houston's Alecia Smith managed to sneak in a 3-pointer off an inbounds play just before the buzzer sounded for a 29-26 lead at the break.
The teams traded baskets to open the second half before Gordon fueled UCF's offense with six points during its 13-0 run for a 43-35 lead with 11:23 to play.
The Knights were in control the rest of the way and received a late jolt from senior Brittni Montgomery, who sank the final 6 points to seal the win.
UCF enjoys a week off from game action before hosting Tulsa in the first game of the New Year on Jan. 3 at 2 p.m.
Fans can get in on the action all year with the "Season Ticket Card," which is on sale now, starting at $30. Tickets are available today by calling (407) UCF-1000 or buying online by clicking here.