ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – For the second time in a row, UCF hits the road for an American Athletic Conference contest. The Knights make their way to East Carolina for a Wednesday night matchup.
Slated for 7 p.m. start in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, the game can be seen on the American Digital Network.
On Monday, Korneila Wright became the first Knight of the season to be recognized by the league office as she was named The American Freshman of the Week. The Orlando, Fla., native tied her career-high in points (11) and assists (8) while hitting five field goals to help UCF earn its first league win of the season. UCF (11-6, 1-3 The American) outscored Houston 22-9 in the third quarter to collect the road win.
The top two Knights on offense this season have been senior Zykira Lewis and junior Aliyah Gregory. Between the two, they have combined to pace UCF in scoring in the last 11 games. Lewis leads the way, averaging 16.2 points per game on the season and 15.3 in league play. The Bartow, Fla., native, who ranks 12th in the nation in steals, has a team-leading 56 on the season.
Gregory is not far behind, averaging 12.4 points per contest on the season and 13.4 in conference play. The Tampa, Fla., native ranks fourth in the league in steals with 37 on the season, and is shooting 41.4 percent from the field.
A double-double effort from Joslyn Massey at Houston pushed the redshirt senior even with sophomore Tolulope Omokore in rebounding in league play. Both grab an average of 5.0 per contest. Wright, who worked her way into a starting spot, leads the team and ranks seventh among conference players with 4.1 assists per game.
The Knights lead the league and rank 11th in the nation in steals (211). UCF is also 13th in the country steals per game (12.4). The Black and Gold rank second in the league in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 55.3 points per game, and are fourth in turnover margin.
East Carolina enters the matchup with a 10-8 overall record and a 1-4 mark in The American. Last week the Pirates dropped a 78-47 decision at Temple and suffered a 79-48 loss to USF in Tampa on Saturday.
Kristen Gaffney leads ECU with 15.2 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per contest. Gaffney is shooting 54.1 percent from the field. Bre McDonald averages 11.1 points per game and is tied with Khadidja Toure with 10 blocks. Dominique Claytor has a team-high 24 steals and Alex Frazier has 37 assists.
The Pirates rank fourth in the league in field goal percentage (.416) and fifth in assists (13.9).
The Knights face a familiar opponent in East Carolina, as Wednesday's meeting marks the 19th overall meeting. ECU leads the all-time series 14-4 and has won the last five contests. UCF does not have a win in Greenville in program history.
Next up, UCF is back in CFE Arena to host Tulsa at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
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