ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - Junior guard Zykira Lewis hit a major career milestone on Saturday, but it wasn't enough to lift the UCF women's basketball team to victory in their matchup with Buffalo, who prevailed 66-60.
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Lewis surpassed 1,000 points in the first half of the game and continued to tack on more to her career tally with a game-high 25 points. She also recorded the first double-double of her career with a game-high and career-best 12 rebounds.
"It's just a blessing," Lewis said. "I'm happy. It's probably something I never thought I would do."
Freshman Kayla Thigpen swished a 3-pointer just before the buzzer sounded to give the Knights a 30-26 halftime lead, but neither team led by more than a possession again until Buffalo's Brittany Morrison converted a layup with 1:13 to go in the game.
Freshman Ashley Polacek and Lewis both attempted 3-pointers in the final 15 seconds to give UCF a shot at pushing overtime but the Bulls were able to edge out the win.
Milestone Made
• Junior Zykira Lewis became the 21st Knight in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
• She entered Saturday's game needing just four points to achieve the feat. Fittingly, she opened the game with two 3-pointers to put her over the top.
• The second trey came from the top of the key with five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
• With 1,021 career points to her name, she needs just 68 more to breach UCF's list for top-10 career scorers.
• Lewis' 25-point outing marked the 20th 20-point game of her collegiate career.
• "She's a player who has really grown since her freshman year, on both sides of the ball," UCF head coach Joi Williams said. "She usually comes through for us when we need her. So I'm just really proud of her and proud of her accomplishment, and hopefully she'll go well beyond it before she graduates."
Up Next
• UCF continues play in the Thanksgiving Classic with Sunday's final game at 2:30 p.m. against Butler.
• The Knights and Bulldogs have met three times previously, and UCF is looking for its first win over Butler.