UNCASVILLE, Conn. (UCFKnights.com) – A dominant fourth quarter performance led the UCF women’s basketball team to a 66-54 American Athletic Conference Championship quarterfinal victory over Tulsa on Saturday evening in Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Knights (25-5) and Golden Hurricane (13-18) started slow, with UCF holding a 10-8 advantage after the first quarter. The Black and Gold began to warm up in the second quarter, pouring in 22 points in the second frame to hold a 32-21 edge at halftime.
UCF led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter before a Tulsa run pulled the teams even 43-43 heading into the fourth quarter. After trading buckets to open the final frame, the Black and Gold outscored the Golden Hurricane 17-7 over the final 8:02 to move on to Sunday’s semifinal.
Kay Kay Wright led all scorers with 20 points and dished out a game-high five assists. Sydnee McDonald added 10 points and Masseny Kaba pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
Notes to Know
- Saturday’s win gave UCF 25 victories on the season – matching the program record across all divisions.
- Nyala Shuler’s five boards moved her into fourth on UCF’s career rebounding list with 821. She passed Aisha Patrick (2008-12).
- Shuler also took over sole possession of seventh on the career blocks lists with 73.
- Kay Kay Wright’s 20-point performance shot her up the season record chart. Her 552 points on the campaign rank fourth in a season, while her 213 made field goals is tied with Tari Philips (1990-91) for third in a single season.
- UCF advanced to the semifinal of The American Championship for the third consecutive season.
- The Knights shot 76.9 percent (10-13) in the fourth quarter while limiting Tulsa to 28.6 (4-14) for the frame.
- UCF swatted a season-best six blocks in the win.
The bench was big.
- Five Knights came off the bench to score a combined 25 points.
- Lawriell Wilson sparked the Knights in the fourth quarter, scoring six of her eight points in the final frame.
- Masseny Kaba finished three points shy of a double-double with seven points and 10 rebounds.
- Kayla Thigpen collected a pair of steals to go along with six points for the Knights.
- Diamond Battles and Brittney Smith each added a pair of points in their first appearance at The American Championship.
UCF will now face the winner of the No. 3 Cincinnati – No. 11 Memphis contest at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena.
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone! The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news.