ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF women's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m., as the Knights welcome Cincinnati to CFE Arena.
The first 100 students will received the January Knightro bobblehead.
The American Digital Network will broadcast the second meeting between the squads. Currently tied for sixth in the league standings, the Knights (12-7, 2-4 The American) look to split the season series with third-place Cincinnati (14-5, 5-1 The American).
When the two teams met on Jan. 4, the Bearcats came away with a 63-57 home win. Cincinnati held its largest lead - 16 points - with 7:06 left to play. UCF rallied, closing the game with a 16-6 run, and pulled within two, 59-57, with 37 seconds left to play. Cincinnati sealed the victory from the free throw line, going 4-for-6 down the stretch. Junior Aliyah Gregory led the Knights with 15 points, while Ana Owens scored a game-high 20 for the Bearcats.
UCF returns to action after dropping a 73-62 decision to Tulsa on Jan. 21. Aliyah Gregory scored a season-high 25 points in the loss.
For the last 13 games, it has been either Gregory or senior Zykira Lewis leading the way for the Knights on offense.
Lewis averages 15.0 points per game on the season and 11.7 in league play. Gregory is not far behind, averaging 13.4 points per contest on the season and paces UCF with 16.0 point per game in conference play.
The duo have been the leaders on the defensive end as well. Lewis ranks 13th in the nation with a team-leading 60 steals on the season. Gregory ranks fourth in the league with 39 steals on the season.
Junior Fifi Ndour leads the Knights in rebounding, averaging 5.8 per contest in league play. A seven-offensive board outing at ECU helped propel sophomore Tolulope Omokore to the team-high. She has 67 on the season. Freshman Korneila Wright leads the team and ranks seventh among conference players with 3.8 assists per game.
The Knights pace the league and rank 10th in the nation in steals (232). UCF is also 10th in the country steals per game (12.4). The Black and Gold rank second the league in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 54.6 points per game, and are fourth in turnover margin.
Cincinnati enters the matchup on a five-game win streak. After dropping their league opener against SMU, the Bearcats opened the win streak with the home victory over the Knights.
Three Bearcats are averaging double figures, led by Shanice Johnson's 15.5 points per game. Ana Owens (13.1) and Bianca Quisenberry (10.5) also average double figures. Johnson ranks second in the league in rebounding (9.6), steals (3.0) and blocked shots (1.6).
In conference play, the Bearcats rank third in blocked shots, averaging 4.2 per game. Cincinnati has the fourth-best free throw percentage, shooting .723 from the charity stripe.
Cincinnati extended its lead in the all-time series to 7-2 with the win earlier in January.
Next up, UCF hits the road for a contest at Memphis on Saturday. The Knights face the Tigers at 11 a.m. CT/noon ET.
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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.
