ORLANDO – As the UCF women's basketball team aims for a third-straight NCAA Tournament bid, the Knights will challenge themselves early in the season. UCF head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson announced the non-conference portion of the 2021-22 schedule on Thursday.
The Knights, coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, face six programs who advanced to the Big Dance a year ago: Tennessee, Belmont, Idaho State, Arkansas, Mercer and Iowa. The Lady Vols and Bruins both advanced to the second round and Iowa reached the Sweet 16 last season.
For the third straight season, the Knights open their campaign at home, hosting Duquesne on Nov. 9. UCF remains in The City Beautiful to host Tennessee on Nov. 12. The Lady Vols travel to Orlando for the first meeting with the Knights on the hardwood.
The Knights head to Charlottesville, Va., to face Virginia on Nov. 17 before returning to Addition Financial Arena on Nov. 21 to host Belmont.
UCF spends Thanksgiving in Mexico, as the Knights are slated to face USC (Nov. 25) and Idaho State (Nov. 26). Both of the Knights' Cancun Challenge games are first-time meetings between the programs.
The Black and Gold return stateside to host Arkansas on Dec. 2 before heading out for a four-game road stretch following the finals break. The Knights begins with a Dec. 12 contest at Mercer before traveling to Seton Hall on Dec. 14.
Coach ABE returns to her alma mater on Dec. 18 as UCF makes the trip to Iowa City for the first meeting with the Hawkeyes in program history. At Iowa, she was a member of two Big Ten Conference championship teams and played in the NCAA Sweet 16.
The Knights make the trip to Princeton on Dec. 29. The Tigers did not compete during the 2020-21 season, but compiled a 26-1 overall record and were one of the top teams in the country in 2019-20.
UCF gears up for its eighth season as a member of the American Athletic Conference and will return to a 16-game slate. UCF hosts Tulsa and Memphis, and travels to ECU and SMU. The Knights play South Florida, Houston, Cincinnati, Temple, Tulane and Wichita State twice, both at home and on the road. Dates for those contests will be announced at a later date.
The 2022 American Athletic Conference Championship returns to Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. For the second straight year, the women's and men's tournaments will run in conjunction, with the women's championship slated to be held March 7-10.
UCF enters the 2021-22 campaign with its entire starting five returning from the 2020-21 season which saw the Knights finish with a 16-5 overall record and a 12-2 mark in league play. All-in-all, the Knights return every letterwinner from a year ago, including all-conference honorees Brittney Smith and Tay Sanders, all-tournament selections Diamond Battles and Masseny Kaba and The American Newcomer and Co-Sixth Player of the Year Alisha Lewis.
The Knights finished second in the league standings in 2020-21 and made their second appearance in The American Championship title game in the last three seasons. Not only did UCF return to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year as an at-large squad, the Black and Gold also made the trip to San Antonio as a No. 10 seed - the highest in program history.
Defense has been a UCF staple under Coach ABE as the Knights have held their opponents under 57 points per game in each of the last five seasons. The Knights limited opponents to 50.5 points per game during the 2020-21 slate, which was the top scoring defense in the country.
Game times and broadcast information for all 2021-22 games will be announced at a later date. For single-game and season ticket information for the upcoming 2021-22 UCF women's basketball season, click here, or call the ticket office at (407) 823-1000.
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Quick Look – Non-Conference Opponents
Duquesne
League: A10
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa.
2020-21 Record: 5-11
Series with UCF: Knights lead 1-0
Last Meeting: UCF, 71-63 (12/12/18)
Tennessee
League: SEC
Location: Knoxville, Tenn.
2020-21 Record: 17-8
2020-21 Postseason: NCAA Second Round
Series with UCF: First meeting
Virginia
League: ACC
Location: Charlottesville, Va.
2020-21 Record: 0-5 (Canceled remainder of season due to COVID-19 pandemic)
Series with UCF: Tied 1-1
Last Meeting: UCF, 60-34 (11/25/20)
Belmont
League: Ohio Valley Conference
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
2020-21 Record: 21-6
2020-21 Postseason: NCAA Second Round
Series with UCF: Knights lead 5-4
Last Meeting: Belmont, 72-37 (11/9/19)
USC
League: Pac-12
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
2020-21 Record: 11-12
Series with UCF: First meeting
Idaho State
League: Big Sky
Location: Pocatello, Idaho
2020-21 Record: 22-4
2020-21 Postseason: NCAA First Round
Series with UCF: First meeting
Arkansas
League: SEC
Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
2020-21 Record: 19-9
2020-21 Postseason: NCAA First Round
Series with UCF: Razorbacks lead 1-0
Last meeting: Arkansas, 101-74 (12/13/85)
Mercer
League: SoCon
Location: Macon, Ga.
2020-21 Record: 19-7
2020-21 Postseason: NCAA First Round
Series with UCF: Knights lead 27-17
Last Meeting: UCF, 76-42 (11/18/18)
Seton Hall
League: Big East
Location: South Orange, N.J.
2020-21 Record: 14-7
Series with UCF: First Meeting
Iowa
League: Big Ten
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
2020-21 Record: 20-10
2020-21 Postseason: NCAA Sweet 16
Series with UCF: First meeting
Princeton
League: Ivy
Location: Princeton, N.J.
2020-21 Record: Ivy League did not compete in 2020-21
2019-20 Record: 26-1
Series with UCF: Tigers lead, 1-0
Last Meeting: Princeton, 91-87 (11/62/05)
