INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (UCFKnights.com) - From the opening tip to the final buzzer, the UCF women's basketball team maintained control in Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Knights topped Butler, 66-59, on Tuesday evening.
"It's hard to win on the road," UCF head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said. "This is a really good shooter's gym. I feel like we did a good job shooting the ball today, and we did a good job of not letting (Butler) shoot the ball too. Defense won the game."
UCF (4-1) held off a late rally from the home team to collect its third road win of the season. Butler (2-3) cut the Black and Gold lead to six with 48 seconds remaining in the contest, but the Knights made all six of their free throws down the stretch to keep the game out of reach.
The bench came up big for the Knights, scoring 23 points. For the fourth time this season, UCF held the rebounding edge, 37-27, scoring 13 second chance points. The Black and Gold scored 13 fast break points.
Junior Aliyah Gregory was one of three Knights in double figures, leading the team with 18 points. Senior Zykira Lewis scored 15 points off the bench, and her third trey of the game pushed her career total to 200. Freshman Korneila Wright scored a career-best 11 points while dishing out four assists. Redshirt senior Joslyn Massey grabbed a team-best nine rebounds and collected a career-best five steals.
Road Warriors
* Tuesday marked the third road game for the Knights this season. UCF is 3-0 away from home in the first 11 days of the 2016-17 campaign.
* The Black and Gold have yet to allow 60 points to a road opponent in the first three games away from home.
* Three different Knights have led UCF in scoring in all three road contests. Fifi Ndour (14), Zykira Lewis (26) and Aliyah Gregory (18) have had the team-high in points.
Great for Gregory
* Junior Aliyah Gregory, playing just her third game of the season after suffering an injury in the season opener, scored a season-high 18 points.
* The Tampa, Fla., native hit seven shots, including a season-best two three-pointers.
* Gregory grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and swiped four steals.
* The guard played a team-leading 34 minutes in the win.
UCF returns to CFE Arena for the Thanksgiving Classic, which begins Nov. 26. The Black and Gold open against Rider at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Knights take on Austin Peay at 2:30 on Sunday.
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