TAMPA – A lock-down defensive effort led the UCF women's basketball team to a 54-33 win over South Florida in the Yuengling Center on Sunday afternoon.
UCF (18-3, 10-1 The American) held South Florida (17-7, 7-3 The American) to just 12 points in the second half, with two single-digit quarters.
The UCF defense was stifling, allowing its fewest points all season, and the fewest since March 7, 2020. The Knights held South Florida to its lowest output in the all-time series, and the 33 points were the fewest for the Bulls since 1996. The Black and Gold limited South Florida to a 27.7 field goal percentage for the game.
The Knights forced South Florida into 17 turnovers, converting them into 20 points. UCF held a slight, 35-34, rebounding edge and got 22 points from its bench.
UCF started off the game strong, with baskets from Masseny Kaba and Tay Sanders and free throws from Diamond Battles putting the visitors up 6-0. The Bulls answered and the score was knotted at 10-10 after the first period.
UCF began to pull away in the second quarter, ballooning its lead to double figures before taking a 27-21 advantage into halftime. The Bulls opened the third quarter outscoring the Knights 5-2 to pull within three, but the Black and Gold responded and held a 40-28 edge after three frames. The Knights outscored the Bulls 14-5 in the fourth quarter to complete the regular season sweep of South Florida.
Brittney Smith led all scorers with 17 points with six rebounds. Masseny Kaba extended her double-figure scoring streak to six games with 14 points. She also had seven rebounds and a career-best five assists.
UCF returns to Addition Financial Arena to host Wichita State on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
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