ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF women's basketball team returns to action on Saturday, heading to Tulsa.
Slated for a 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET start in the Reynolds Center, the matchup between the Knights and the Hurricane will be available on the American Digital Network.
UCF (14-9, 4-6 The American) enters the game after a season-best performance against Houston. The Knights scored a season-high 85 points to cruise past the Cougars. Senior Zykira Lewis poured in a season-best 29 points, while junior Aliyah Gregory posted her second consecutive game with 28 points.
Defense has been the mainstay for the Knights this season. UCF is holding opponents to just 55.9 points per game, which ranks 19th in the nation. The Black and Gold continue to lead the league and rank 14th in the country with an average of 11.7 steals per contest.
Zykira Lewis ranks 13th nationally with 72 steals on the season and is just three shy of moving into the single season top 10 at UCF.
Offensively, the Knights have relied on the hot hands of Lewis and Gregory. The duo has combined to lead UCF in scoring in the last 17 games. Gregory ranks fifth in The American, averaging 18.7 points per game.
Lewis, who became the second Knight in program history to reach 1,700 career points, averages 15.5 points per game in conference action. The Bartow, Fla., native hit six three-pointers in the Feb. 8 win over Houston to bring her season total to 53. She has now posted her third straight season of ranking among UCF's single-season 3-pointers top 10.
Sophomore Tolulope Omokore and redshirt senior Joslyn Massey have been big on the boards for the Knights. Of Omokore's 138 rebounds, 83 have come on the offensive glass. For Massey, 80 of her 159 rebounds are offensive boards.
Freshman Korneila Wright has dished out 90 assists on the season, averaging 3.9 per contest for UCF. The Orlando, Fla., native ranks seventh among league players and is the top freshman in assists in the conference.
Tulsa enters the matchup with an 8-16 overall record and a 4-7 mark in The American. The Hurricane have dropped their last two league contests, at No. 1 UConn and at Temple.
Erika Wakefield paces Tulsa on offense, averaging 11.7 points per game, and has a team-leading 35 steals on the season. She also has a team-high 81 assists. Kendrian Elliott leads the Hurricane with 19 blocked shots and averages a team-best 7.6 rebounds per game.
The Hurricane rank fourth in the league in free throw percentage, shooting 71.9 percent from the charity stripe. Tulsa is third in the conference in three-point field goals made, hitting 168 threes for an average of 7.0 per game.
Tulsa has won the last two contests against the Knights to even the all-time series at 7-7. In the Jan. 21 meeting, the Knights trailed early in the game, but used an 8-0 run in the second quarter to take a 30-29 edge heading into halftime. The Hurricane rallied in the third quarter and built a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter. A late push from UCF cut it to single digits, 66-60, but Tulsa held on for the win. Aliyah Gregory turned in a then-season best performance with 25 points. Shug Dickson paced Tulsa with 22.
Next up, UCF makes the trip to Tampa to take on No. 22/23 USF in the War on I4 rivalry series. Slated for a 7 p.m. tip, the lone meeting between the Knights and the Bulls will broadcast on ESPN3.
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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.