FORT WORTH – The UCF women's basketball team rolled to a 61-39 victory over Houston in the semifinals of the 2021 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship in Dickies Arena on Wednesday evening.
With the victory, UCF (16-3) advances to The American title game for the second time in the last three years.
The Knights trailed for 26 seconds as Houston (16-7) scored the first basket of the evening, but the Knights asserted themselves early with 11 unanswered points take an 11-2 lead with just over four minutes left in the opening frame. The Black and Gold held a 14-8 edge after the first 10 minutes of action.
The Knights continued to push in the second quarter, ballooning the lead to double figures in the first two minutes. UCF saw its advantage grow to 20 points, 30-10, on a three-pointer from Alisha Lewis to beat the shot clock. A three-pointer from Asia Todd with 15 seconds left in the period sent the Knights to the locker rooms with a 36-15 lead.
UCF maintained its 20-point advantage throughout the second half to keep the game out of reach.
The Black and Gold defense was stifling once again, holding an opponent below 40 points for the fourth time this season. UCF limited the Cougars to a 26.4 field goal percentage and a 12.6 three-point field goal percentage.
The Knights held a 45-26 rebounding edge and used 13 offensive rebounds to score 11 second chance points. UCF forced Houston into 16 turnovers.
Diamond Battles led UCF with 14 points and had three steals in 23 minutes of action. Masseny Kaba added 13 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Alisha Lewis and Brittney Smith each chipped in 10 points, with Lewis dishing out three assists.
In all, 13 Knights saw action, with seven tallying at least one point and 10 collecting at least one rebound.
The second-seeded Knights face the top seed South Florida at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday in Dickies Arena.
