CINCINNATI - The UCF women's basketball team dropped its first American Athletic Conference contest, falling to Cincinnati, 61-57, in Fifth Third Arena on Saturday.
UCF (12-3, 4-1 AAC) fell behind early as Cincinnati (9-9, 2-4 AAC) jumped out to an 11-2 lead. The Knights used a 7-0 run in the frame but trailed the Bearcats 13-9 after the first 10 minutes.
Diamond Battles tied up the game in the second quarter, scoring five points in less than 20 seconds, but Cincinnati responded with an 11-0 run of its own. Triples from Alisha Lewis and Battles pulled the Knights within five, 27-22, at halftime.
The Black and Gold opened the third quarter on a 5-0 spurt to make it 27-all on the scoreboard. Midway through the third quarter, Masseny Kaba gave UCF its first lead of the game, 31-30. The teams traded leads for the remainder of the period, with the home team holding a 41-40 edge heading into the fourth.
The final frame followed a similar pattern of the teams trading leads. Cincinnati hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds remaining to take a 59-57 advantage. The Bearcats secured the victory at the charity stripe.
Diamond Battles led all scorers with 21 points, hitting a career-high five three-pointers to go along with three assists and a pair of steals. Alisha Lewis added 16 points on 6-9 shooting – including four triples – six rebounds and three assists. Masseny Kaba and Destiny Thomas each had seven rebounds for the Knights. Kaba had two blocks and Thomas matched her career with four steals.
UCF returns to Addition Financial Arena to host Tulane on Jan. 26. The second meeting between the Knights and Green Wave tips at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
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