ORLANDO – With the regular season winding down, the No. 25 UCF women's basketball team returns to Addition Financial Arena for a two game homestand, which begins Saturday when the Knights host Cincinnati at 2 p.m.
The game between the Knights (20-3, 12-1 The American) and the Bearcats (11-15, 4-10 The American) will stream live on ESPN+.
A win on Saturday clinches the American Athletic Conference regular season title and the No. 1 seed at The American Championship for the Knights. UCF seeks its first AAC title and its first regular season title since 2005.
GAME INFO
Date: Saturday, Feb. 26
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats
Purchase Tickets
GAME PROMOTIONS
- Knightro Tank Top giveaway – First 250 UCF students
- Girl Scouts will be selling cookies in the main concourse
- Varsity Knights – We welcome back our alumnae and will recognize them in-game.
TOP 25 KNIGHTS
The UCF women's basketball team broke into the top 25 in a national poll for the first time in program history, debuting at No. 25 in the USA Today/WBCA coaches poll on Feb. 22, 2022.
For the second time under Coach Abe, UCF entered its season receiving votes in the USA Today/ WBCA Top 25 and has earned votes in each poll this season before making the jump into the rankings in Week 15. The Knights appeared in the receiving votes section of the AP Top 25 for the first time this season on Jan. 17 and returned to the section on Feb. 14. UCF had eight points in the Feb. 21 poll.
The Black and Gold previously opened the 2019-20 season receiving votes in the coaches poll and have received votes in one or both polls in each of the last four seasons.
KNIGHT NOTES
- UCF enters Saturday atop the American Athletic Conference standings and a win over the Bearcats clinches UCF's first regular season title in The American.
- The Knights have held three straight opponents to 35 points or less and rank second in the nation by allowing just 48.5 points per game. UCF is also third nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a 33.5 field goal percentage.
- UCF averages 11.3 steals this season, which ranks 14th in the country, and is 27th with 19.87 turnovers forced. The Black and Gold have forced each opponent this season into double-digit turnovers, with 10 committing 20+ turnovers.
- Diamond Battles paces the Knights with 14.0 points per game, having reached double figures in 16 contests this season. The Winter Haven, Fla., native is one of three league players with six or more 20-point contests this season.
- Tay Sanders is UCF's second-leading scorer on the season, averaging 10.3 points per game.
- Masseny Kaba enters Saturday on a eight-game double-digit scoring streak, the longest of her career, and is averaging 9.5 points per game. Brittney Smith joins Kaba just shy of averaging double figures at 9.4 points per contest.
- Alisha Lewis, who tied The American and UCF single game records with 10 steals against Houston, ranks 21st in the country in steals per game, averaging 2.74. Her 63 steals ranks 39th among Division I student-athletes.
- Destiny Thomas leads UCF and ranks 155th nationally with 7.7 rebounds per game. She is one of six league players with eight or more games with 10+ rebounds this season.
SCOUTING CINCINNATI
The Bearcats are 11-15 overall with a 4-10 mark in league play. Cincinnati snapped a five-game losing streak with a 71-58 win over Memphis on Feb. 23.
Jillian Hayes paces the Bearcats with 12.1 points per game and 7.0 rebounds. Akira Levy averages 11.1 points per game for Cincinnati with 5.7 assists per contest. Caitlyn Wilson has made 56 three-pointers on the season, shooting at a 32.2 percent clip.
The all-time series is tied at 10-10. Cincinnati won 61-57 in Fifth Third Arena on Jan. 22.
NEXT UP
UCF closes out the regular season on March 2, hosting Tulsa in Addition Financial Arena at 6 p.m. The Knights will recognize their seniors following the regular season finale.
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