ORLANDO – The UCF women's basketball team continues its home stand on Sunday, welcoming No. 24 South Florida to Addition Financial Arena for the first women's basketball installment in the War on I-4.
The Knights (11-2, 3-0 The American) and Bulls (12-4, 2-0 The American) at 3 p.m. ET.
GAME INFO
Date: Sunday, Jan. 16
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPNU
Live Stats
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WAR ON I-4
• Three points are up for grabs on Sunday UCF and South Florida face off for the first time in 2022.
• UCF holds a 21-9 advantage in the 2021-22 edition with victories by its men's soccer, volleyball and football teams. The Knights also picked up six points at the cross country championship. The Bulls added its points in men's and women's soccer. Three points are up for grabs on the men's side as the Knights and Bulls face off in men's basketball on Saturday evening.
• UCF won the inaugural 2016-17 trophy, 51-33, and the 2017-18 edition 49-35. The Knights won their third straight overall War on I-4 trophy with a final tally of 70-14. Although the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the spring sports in 2020, UCF led the War On I-4 rivalry series 36-9. The Knights won last season's overall rivalry series 59.25-24.75.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
During the Coach Abe era, the Knights have ranked among the best in the country defensively and the 2021-22 season is following the same pattern. UCF is limiting its opponents to 48.5 points per game, which ranks third nationally.
The Black and Gold have held nine opponents below 50 points, with two - Duquesne and Virginia - failing to reach 40 points. They've held eight teams to their season low, including two conference opponents this season. UCF is also limiting opponents to a 34.4 field goal percentage, which ranks 18th in the country.
The Knights average 12.4 steals this season, which ranks 13th in the country, and rank 30th with 20.92 turnovers forced. UCF has forced each opponent this season into double-digit turnovers, with seven committing 20+ turnovers.
KNIGHT NOTES
- A pair of Knights average double figures, led by Diamond Battles' 12.9 points per game. She also leads UCF with 3.8 assists per game and has dished out five in each of the last three games.
- A career-high 23 points against the Cougars bumped Tay Sanders up to 11.4 points per contest.
- Alisha Lewis added her name to the record books in the Jan. 11 win over Houston. Lewis' career-high 10 steals against the Cougars tied both a UCF and American Athletic Conference single game record.
- Lewis (3.31) and Battles (2.62) both rank in the top 50 in the country in steals per game.
- Masseny Kaba became the 20th Knight in program history to reach 1,000 career points, reaching the milestone in a 54-47 win at Tulane on Jan. 5.
- Destiny Thomas leads UCF and ranks 80th nationally with 8.6 rebounds per game. She has pulled down 10 or more rebounds in six games this season.
- The Knights have appeared among the teams receiving votes in seven straight USA Today/WBCA Top 25 polls.
SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA
The Bulls are 12-4 overall with a 2-0 mark in league play. South Florida ranks 19th nationally in scoring defense (54.3), 27th in rebound margin (8.4), 34th in free throw percentage (76.3) and 36th in rebounds (639).
Four Bulls average double figures, led by Elena Tsineke's 13.8 points per game. Bethy Mununga averages a double-double with 11.8 rebounds and 10.9 points per contest. Dulcy Mendjiadeu Fankam adds 10.6 points and Sydni Harvey chips in 10.5 points per game. Mununga ranks fifth in the country in rebounds (189) and eighth in rebounds per game (11.8).
The Bulls lead the all-time series 26-11, but the Knights are 6-4 against South Florida under Coach Abe.
NEXT UP
UCF heads to SMU for a midweek matchup against the Mustangs on Jan. 19.
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