NEW ORLEANS, La. (UCFKnights.com) – A total team effort led UCF to a 56-51 win over Tulane in Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening.
"I'm so excited. We played really hard; we played together," head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson told the American Digital Network following the game. "This was a great little milestone for us and I'm so proud of our team. It was a whole team effort today."
UCF (18-9, 8-6 The American) won its fifth-straight game and solidified its hold on fourth place in the American Athletic Conference standings.
After trailing by a point, 9-8, at the end of the first quarter, UCF outscored Tulane 16-11 to take a 24-20 lead into halftime. The Knights kept their foot on the pedal and withstood a late Green Wave rally to earn their first-ever win over Tulane since joining The American.
Junior Fifi Ndour led all scorers with 14 points, shooting 87.5 percent (7-for-8) from the floor. Freshman Korneila Wright added 10 points with three assists and a pair of steals. Ndour and redshirt senior Joslyn Massey each had eight rebounds for UCF.
Power in the Paint
• The Knights scored 34 points in the paint. Forwards Fifi Ndour, Tolulope Omokore and Joslyn Massey combined for 30 points.
• With the Green Wave pulling closer and time ticking down, Ndour cut hard to the basket for a lay in that pushed UCF's edge to five, 51-46.
• Less than 15 seconds later, after forcing Tulane to turn the ball over, Ndour broke away for a layup that sealed UCF's win. Her 14th point of the game put the Knights up 53-46 with 1:02 left to play.
Keeps Getting Better
• The Knights won their 18th game of the season, marking the most since the 2010-11 season when UCF went 22-11.
• UCF's eight wins in The American continue to raise the mark for the most wins since joining the league prior to the 2013-14 season. The last time the Knights won eight or more conference games came during the 2010-11 season when UCF went 12-4 in Conference USA.
• The Black and Gold have won nine road games this season, and have held eight of its 13 road opponents under 60 points.
Next up, UCF wraps up the regular season with a pair of home games. The Knights host SMU on Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. and welcome No. 23 Temple on Feb. 27 at 7 p.m.
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