SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Four Knights reached double figures as the UCF women's basketball team earned a 68-56 win at Seton Hall in Walsh Gymnasium on Tuesday evening.
UCF (8-1) withstood a second half rally from Seton Hall (4-5) to extend its win streak to seven in a row.
Masseny Kaba put the Knights on the board first, but the Pirates responded. Seton Hall held a 15-9 lead before UCF closed the gap to one, 18-17, at the end of the first quarter.
The UCF defense locked down in the second period, limiting Seton Hall to just eight points. Diamond Battles, Tay Sanders and Alisha Lewis combined for 18 points in the frame to give the Knights a 35-26 advantage at halftime.
UCF opened the second half on an 8-0 run to balloon its lead to 17 points, 43-26, with 5:57 left in the third quarter. The Pirates answered, outscoring UCF 18-4 down the stretch to cut the Black and Gold lead to three, 47-44, leading into the final 10 minutes.
A basket from Battles and a layup from Sanders pushed the Knights lead back to seven in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. A three-pointer from Lewis, a Battles layup and a jumper from Brittney Smith gave UCF a double-digit lead, 58-46, with 7:09 left, prompting Seton Hall to take a timeout.
The Pirates closed the gap to six, 58-52, but Lewis, Battles and Smith extended the advantage back to double figures, where the Knights kept it for the remainder of the contest.
Diamond Battles led four Knights in double figures, tallying 22 points while shooting 66.7 percent from the field. She also dished out a season-high six assists. Alisha Lewis added a season-best 15 points, shooting 62.5 percent, to go along with three assists and three steals. Tay Sanders chipped in 12 points with three steals. Masseny Kaba just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
UCF shot 50.9 percent from the field, matching their season high with 68 points. The Knights were also a perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe while scoring 28 points in the paint.
NEXT UP
UCF continues its road stretch on Saturday, heading to No. 13/14 Iowa for a 7:30 p.m. ET contest on the Big Ten Network+.
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Gameday app right to your iOS or Android phone. The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news. Click here to download the app now.
