Jan. 10, 2015
Box Score
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By Jenna Marina
UCFKnights.com
CINCINNATI, Ohio (UCFKnights.com) - Despite career days from several of its bench members, the UCF women's basketball team couldn't pull off its first win against Cincinnati. The Knights fell to the Bearcats, 70-54, on Saturday afternoon.
UCF sophomore Zykira Lewis paced her team in scoring with 15 points while reserve forward Yanique Gordon added a career-high 12 points to go along with her six rebounds. Junior Erica Juarbe brought down a career-high 10 rebounds, 7 of which were offensive boards.
"We had a great opportunity today and we let it slip away," UCF head coach Joi Williams said. "I thought we were very aggressive to come out the second half. We got them in the bonus early. And then we relaxed. We were reactive. Hopefully we'll learn a lesson from it and be ready for Tuesday."
The Knights (6-9, 2-2) couldn't pop the lid off their hoop to start the game, suffering through an 0-9 stretch before senior guard Andrea Hines sank the first field goal with 14:25 remaining in the half. Meanwhile, the Bearcats (5-11, 2-3) took advantage with an 11-0 run.
Once Hines had the breakthrough, UCF found ways to score and get back in the game. On two occasions, the team cut the deficit down to 1 point - first with a 3-pointer from Bryeasha Blair (13-12, 9:37) and again with a jumper from Gordon (23-22, 3:11).
But on both occasions, the Bearcats were able to follow up with some buckets to regain a healthy edge and walked into halftime with a 32-26 lead.
Again, UCF went to work on the deficit in the second half and got a boost from second-chance points off offensive rebounds. When Gordon converted 1-of-2 from the free throw line, she knotted up the score for the first time of the day, 39-39, with 13:19 to play.
Cincinnati refused to give up its hold on the game. Makenzie Cann drained a 3-pointer from the left, baseline corner off an inbound play on their next possession to put her team back on top.
Over the next six minutes, UCF held it to a single-possession game but another 9-0 run helped the Bearcats eventually push their edge back out to double digits, 56-45, and the Knights were never able to recover.
UCF will have a quick turnaround as they return to Orlando to host Tulane at 7 pm. Tuesday.
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.