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UCF Tops Tulsa, Advances to Semifinals

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.

 

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