ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) – A dominant defensive effort led the UCF women's basketball team to a 56-48 win over South Florida in Addition Financial Arena on Wednesday evening.
UCF (16-8, 8-4 The American) forced South Florida (15-11, 7-5 The American) into 21 turnovers and held them to just 32.7 percent shooting from the floor.
The Knights completed the season sweep of the Bulls and added three points to UCF's War On i-4 total, bringing the 2019-20 tally to 33-9. The win also pushed UCF into a tie with Cincinnati for second in the league standings with four regular season contests.
The Black and Gold scored the first basket of the contest but then the Bulls scored six unanswered to take a four-point advantage out of the media timeout. A pair of three-pointers from Georgia Gayle and a free throw from Masseny Kaba pushed the Black and Gold back in front where the Knights remained, leading 13-7 at the end of the first 10 minutes.
UCF pushed its advantage to double digits in the second quarter, going up 21-9 before taking a 23-18 lead into the locker room. South Florida scored five unanswered out of the break to tie the score at 23-23 and traded lead with the Knights until just before the media timeout.
Leading 38-32 heading into the fourth quarter, Kay Kay Wright took over. She scored six unanswered points to push UCF out to a seven-point advantage, 46-39, halfway through the frame. After South Florida pulled within four, 52-48, Wright and Gayle put the game out of reach in the final minute.
Wright posted a game-high 24 points, scoring 14 in the fourth quarter on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor.
Brittney Smith added 10 points for the Knights while Masseny Kaba grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds. Diamond Battles dished out three assists without a turnover in nearly 26 minutes of action.
NEXT UP
UCF heads to No. 6 Connecticut for a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday in Gampel Pavilion. The game will stream on ESPN3.
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