ORLANDO – The UCF women's basketball team extended its win streak to four with a 52-47 victory over ECU in Addition Financial Arena on Wednesday evening.
UCF (9-2, 7-1 AAC) used a team effort to jump out to an 8-2 lead over ECU (5-9, 3-6 AAC) as four Knights scored in the early going. A three-pointer from Ahna Burney put the Black and Gold in double figures and UCF held a 14-9 lead at the end of the opening frame.
The Pirates opened the second period on a 6-0 spurt to take a 15-14 lead, but the UCF post players stepped up down the stretch. Masseny Kaba and Brittney Smith combined for six points to give the Knights a 24-22 edge at the break.
While the Knights were able to maintain a lead in the third quarter, they were unable to pull away from the Pirates. After UCF extended its lead to six, 36-30, in the opening 39 seconds of the final frame, the Pirates responded with a 9-0 run to go in front with just over five minutes to play.
For the second game in a row, sophomore guard Alisha Lewis stepped up when the Knights needed her. Finding her team down by three, 41-41, Lewis sank a clutch three-pointer to pull UCF event and provide a spark for the Black and Gold. The Knights extended their lead to three before Kaba stepped up defensively with a block and recovered the rebound. UCF went perfect from the charity stripe in the closing minute to secure the victory.
For the seventh time this season, UCF held its opponent under 50 points. The Knights limited the Pirates to a 24.6 field goal percentage, sparked by a 16.7 percentage in the opening quarter.
Courtajia Sanders tallied her second double-double of the season with a game-high 11 rebounds and 10 points. Brittney Smith led UCF with 11 points. Masseny Kaba filled the stat sheet with eight points, seven rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks.
UP NEXT
UCF heads to Wichita for the first meeting of the season against the Shockers. The teams tip at 8 p.m. ET on Jan. 30 in an American Athletic Conference matchup on ESPN+.
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