ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – After falling behind early, the UCF women's basketball team responded quickly en route to a 49-30 win over Rider in the UCF Thanksgiving Classic in CFE Arena on Saturday afternoon.
UCF (5-1) trailed 6-0 at the first media timeout in the first quarter. Senior Zykira Lewis provided a spark off the bench for the Knights, leading to six quick points to even the score. Lewis found junior Aliyah Gregory on a fast break with time winding down in the first quarter, giving the Black and Gold a 10-9 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
"The score was 0-6," head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said. "When (Lewis) came off the bench, she really brought a lot of energy and got after it in the press. We really picked it up defensively."
Once in the lead, the Knights stayed in front. UCF held a double-digit advantage for the entire second half, pushing the edge to as many as 27 points, 49-22, on a layup from redshirt senior Joslyn Massey.
Massey scored a game-high 18 points and junior Fifi Ndour grabbed a season-best 10 rebounds. Junior Aliyah Gregory collected a career-best six steals.
Mighty Massey
• Redshirt senior Joslyn Massey finished with 18 points, just two shy of her career-best 20 points.
• The Detroit, Mich., native finished with seven rebounds, her fourth game this season with seven or more rebounds. She's finished with at least six in every contest this campaign.
• Earning her second straight start, the forward also dished out two assists, collected four steals and drew a pair of charges.
Coach Abe on Joslyn Massey: "She has been a great leader for us. She's such a vocal leader. She's really bought in to the defense, especially in the half court. Her leadership out there is really important for us. She did a great job of rebounding today; she did a great job scoring today."
Dominant Defense
• UCF held Rider to just 30 points, which are the fewest allowed since Jan. 27, 1984, when the Knights earned a 98-30 win over Eckerd.
• The UCF defense held the Broncs to single digits in all four quarters. After allowing nine points in the first, the Knights limited Rider to six, seven and eight points, respectively.
• The Knights scored 25 points off of 28 Bronc turnovers, including eight fast break scores.
• Again holding the edge on the boards, the Black and Gold out-rebounded Rider 50-31. UCF scored 17 second chance points, while limiting the Broncs to just three.
The Knights are back in action on Sunday, closing out the UCF Thanksgiving Classic against Austin Peay at 2:30 in CFE Arena.
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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.
