Feb. 20, 2016
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) -- Two record-worthy performances helped lift the UCF women's basketball team to a 66-54 win over SMU on Saturday at CFE Arena.
UCF commanded Saturday's game from start to finish, never once trailing, to split its regular season series for the third straight year with the Mustangs.
Related: Box Score | Box Score
Junior Zykira Lewis finished with a game-high 21 points to jump into the program's top-five career scoring leaders. Freshman Tolulope Omokore impressed with 11 points and 20 rebounds, tying for the 8th-best single-game rebounding performance in UCF history.
"It means a lot," Omokore said. "We only have a few games to go but we want to play our hardest in these last few games that we have."
Rebounding was a major factor in the game. The Knights picked up 20 second chance points to SMU's 5 and outrebounded the Mustangs, 60-41.
Rookie's First Start
? Freshman guard Jamesha Paul received the first starting nod of her career on Saturday.
? She proved she was ready to play, registering the first bucket of the game.
? The Pompano Beach native finished with 7 points, a game-high 4 steals and 3 rebounds in 28 minutes.
Top-Five for Zy
? UCF junior Zykira Lewis continues to climb in the program's record book on a number of lists. On Saturday, she claimed the No. 5 spot on UCF's top career scoring leaders with her 18th point off a 3-pointer with 8:28 remaining in the fourth quarter.
? Lewis, the sixth player in school history to reach 1,300 points, now sits at 1,326 career points.
? She has a history of shining at home against the Mustangs. She netted 22 points as a freshman before dropping 21 in the previous two meetings at CFE Arena.
? Lewis's game-high 21 points marked her eighth 20-point outing of the season.
? She also broke into UCF's top 10 career steals list. Her three swipes on Saturday brought her career total to 153, which ranks eighth.
? "They defended her a lot of different ways," UCF head coach Joi Williams said, "but I just really liked the fact that she was patient and made a lot of very good decisions today."
Beast On Boards
? Freshman Tolulope Omokore has continued to progress since earning her first starting nod four games ago.
? Omokore recorded her second career double-double and topped her rebounding personal best in the process.
? Omokore's effort Saturday is just the latest in a recent history of dominant single-game rebounding performances by Knights. Half of UCF's 16 best single-game rebounding efforts have occurred since 2009 under Joi Williams.
? "Tolu is just a beast on the boards," Williams said. "She just does stuff that requires a lot of heart, a lot of passion and aggressiveness. Really proud of her effort tonight."
First Half Fury
? The Knights' press flustered SMU and UCF was able to limit the Mustangs to 16 first-half points. It marked the fewest points scored by UCF's American Athletic conference opponents this season.
? The Knights capitalized with a 17-2 run that was fueled by 13 unanswered points.
? The 16-point differential was UCF's largest halftime lead since Nov. 24 against South Alabama.
Up Next
? UCF holds its final home agme of the season with Tuesday's matchup against Houston.
? The Knights will celebrate Senior Knight, and the first 100 fans in attendance will receive a pair of the popular Rock `Em socks.
? UCF looks to avenge a 64-55 loss at Houston earlier this month, which snapped the Knights' six-game win streak in the series.
Story by Jenna Marina; Video by Conor Englehardt