ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – In what has become a habit under UCF Women’s Basketball head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, Saturday afternoon’s 52-42 win over Tulane marked another milestone in UCF’s historic season.
Playing their final regular season home contest, the Knights came away with their 23rd victory of the season – the most wins in the program’s NCAA Division I era.
The Knights (23-5, 12-3 The American) also locked up the No. 2 seed in next week’s American Athletic Conference Championship. It marks UCF’s highest seed since the 2010-11 Conference USA campaign when the Knights were also seeded second.
After a slow start, UCF rallied to hold a 10-7 lead over Tulane (15-13, 5-10 The American) after the first quarter. The Green Wave came back to tie the score, 16-16, with 5:44 left in the second quarter, but the Knights rallied to take a 25=21 advantage into halftime.
Tulane outscored the Knights 14-8 in the third frame to hold a slight 35-33 edge heading into the fourth quarter. UCF stepped up defensively, limiting the Green Wave to just seven points in the final stanza and just one point in the last four minutes. The Knights poured in 19 points and were a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
Kay Kay Wright led UCF with 16 points to go along with four steals and a trio of assists. Masseny Kaba added a season-best 14 points and pulled down six rebounds. Nyala Shuler led UCF with nine boards and tied her career best with a team-high five steals.
Making History…Again
- In each of her first three seasons at the helm, Coach “ABE” has led her squad to milestone after milestone.
- After matching the program’s most DI wins during postseason play last season, UCF has already surpassed the mark with a game left in the regular season.
- The Knights also matched their most wins in The American at 12.
- Picked to be fourth in The American preseason poll, UCF once again finished the regular season higher than its preseason selection.
Celebrating the Seniors
- Following the contest, UCF recognized its seven-member senior class – Sydnee McDonald, Fifi Ndour, Tolulope Omokore, Jamesha Paul, Nyala Shuler, Kayla Thigpen and Lawriell Wilson.
- All seven saw action on Saturday. Each one pulled down at least one rebound and four scored.
- As a class, they have led UCF to three-consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in the program’s DI history and have improved UCF’s finish in The American in each of the last three years.
Next up, UCF heads to Houston for the regular season finale on Monday. The Knights and the Cougars will tip at 8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
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