ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - Playing in front of its home crowd for the first time this season, the UCF women's basketball team stepped up on offense and defense in a 70-58 win over South Alabama. The Knights improved to 2-0 on the season with the victory in CFE Arena on Sunday.
"We were really excited about finally being at home, playing a real game at home," Coach Abe said. "I thought we did a great job coming out in the third quarter after the timeout. The last two minutes of the second quarter is where we picked it up and got really aggressive. As you see, in the third quarter we had 26 points and that was because of Fifi (Ndour) and (Zykira Lewis) really being aggressive."
South Alabama (0-2) held a 17-15 lead after one quarter of action, but the Knights stepped up on the defensive end to hold the Jaguars to 10 points in the second quarter. Forcing a turnover at halfcourt, senior Zykira Lewis pulled UCF even with South Alabama, 27-27 with 31 seconds left in the first half. Freshman Korneila Wright pressured the ball on the next possession, collecting the steal and giving the Knights a two-point lead, 29-27, going into the break.
After halftime, UCF turned up the heat offensively, scoring 26 points in the third quarter to break open the game. Six Knights scored in the frame to push the lead to double digits, 55-45, going into the final quarter of action.
UCF's defense stepped up in the second half, forcing South Alabama to go more than eight minutes without a field goal between the third and fourth quarters. The Knights have yet to allow more than 18 points in a quarter this season.
Junior Fifi Ndour led all scorers with 19 points. Zykira Lewis added 14 points while dishing out four assists. Sophomore Kayla Thigpen went 2-for-2 from three to finish with 12 points. Redshirt senior Joslyn Massey just missed a double-double, chipping in 11 points while grabbing nine rebounds.
Home Sweet Home
* With the victory on Sunday, UCF has now won its home opener for four straight seasons.
* The Knights are off to a 2-0 start for the third time in the last four years.
* The Black and Gold reached the 70-point mark for the third straight season in the opener at CFE Arena.
Career Knight
* After nearly reaching her career-best of 16 points in the season opener, junior Fifi Ndour surpassed the mark in the second game. The forward scored a game-high 19 points.
* The Dakar, Senegal, native made a career-best eight field goals in the win, with four coming during UCF's 26-point third quarter.
* Ndour finished with six rebounds and an assist in 19 minutes of game action.
UCF hits the road for the second time this season, taking a trip to Davidson on Wednesday. The Knights and the Wildcats square off on the hardwood at 7 p.m.
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Don't miss any of the action during Coach Abe's first season with the Knights. Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here. Adult season tickets are available for $30, and youth tickets (ages 2-17 years) are available for $15.