ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Fourteen home games highlight the 2017-18 UCF women's basketball schedule, which was announced on Wednesday.
As UCF gears up for its fifth season as a member of the American Athletic Conference -- one of the nation's premier women's basketball leagues -- the Knights are slated to face 12 programs who advanced to the NCAA or WNIT Tournaments a year ago.
"We are very excited for the 2017-18 schedule," head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said. "Our team had a successful season last year and is very excited about what is to come this year. Our schedule will be a challenge with many teams who made postseason appearances last year. We are working hard to represent Knight Nation and are looking foward to the season."
UCF tips off the season Nov. 10, in a campaign-opening doubleheader with the men's team. Both programs will host Mercer in CFE Arena.
The Knights hit the road for three games, heading to Chattanooga (Nov. 13), Gardner-Webb (Nov. 17) and Virginia Tech (Nov. 19).
UCF returns to CFE Arena on Nov. 22 to host Elon. The Knights will spend their holiday weekend hosting the UCF Thanksgiving Classic for the third straight season. Northern Iowa, Wyoming and IUPUI will make the trip to Orlando for the two-day tournament.
The Knights head to Birmingham to face Samford on Nov. 30 and return to CFE Arena on Dec. 10 to host Georgia Southern.
UCF heads north to face Boston on Dec. 13 before making a trip to the west coast to take on UC Davis (Dec. 17) and Pacific (Dec. 20). The Knights conclude the non-conference slate on Dec. 28, hosting Davidson.
For the third straight season, UCF opens conference action in CFE Arena. The Knights host Temple in the league opener on Dec. 30. The Knights head to SMU (Jan. 3) before returning home to face conference newcomer Wichita State on Jan. 6.
The Knights make back-to-back road trips to take on defending league champion UConn (Jan. 9) and USF (Jan. 14) before returning home for matchups against Tulane (Jan. 17) and SMU (Jan. 20).
UCF heads to Tulsa on Jan. 27 and travels to Cincinnati on Jan. 30. The Knights welcome Memphis on Feb. 3 and UConn on Feb. 7.
After heading to Temple on Feb. 10, the Knights welcome USF for the second War on I4 matchup on Feb. 18. UCF makes back-to-back road trips to Memphis (Feb. 21) and Houston (Feb. 24) before closing out the regular season at home against ECU on Feb. 26.
The American Athletic Conference Championship will be held again at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn., March 3-6. The winner of the American Athletic Conference Championship will receive an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
The Knights will have 11 games broadcast during the season. Both of UCF's matchups against UConn will air on ESPN3/SNY. ESPNU will air the Jan. 14 matchup at USF, while the Feb. 18 contest against the Bulls will broadcast on CBS Sports Network. The American Digital Network will produce and distribute seven of UCF's games this season.
After leading UCF to its best season since joining The American, Coach "ABE" is set to begin her second season with the Knights. Aliyah Gregory, who became the first Knight to earn First Team honors in The American, returns for her senior campaign after leading the squad with 16.6 points per game last year. UCF also returns five Knights who saw significant playing time last season. Redshirt senior Zakiya Saunders will make her UCF debut, along with five newcomers, in the 2017-18 campaign.
DON'T MISS OUT
The UCF women's basketball team is set for its second season under head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson. Season tickets are on sale now for $40. Click here or call (407) 823-1000 for ticket information.
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