ORLANDO – The No. 23 UCF women's basketball team closes out its regular season on Wednesday evening, hosting Tulsa in Addition Financial Arena at 6 p.m.
The game between the Knights (21-3, 13-1 The American) and the Golden Hurricane (15-8, 5-7 The American) will stream live on ESPN+.
Following the contest, UCF will hold its senior recognition on the court.
GAME INFO
Date: Wednesday, March 2
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats
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CONFERENCE CHAMPS
UCF clinched its first American Athletic Conference regular season championship with a 74-39 victory over Cincinnati on Feb. 26. The Knights won the program's first regular season title since 2005.
The Black and Gold earned one first-place vote in the league's preseason coaches poll and were selected second for the second straight year.
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. The Knights moved up two spots to No. 23 on March 1.
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 and 26 points in the Feb. 28 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
- The Knights have held four straight opponents under 40 points and lead the nation by allowing just 48.1 points per game. UCF is also second nationally in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to a 33.4 field goal percentage.
- UCF averages 11.3 steals this season, which ranks 14th in the country, and is 26th with 19.96 turnovers forced. The Black and Gold have forced each opponent this season into double-digit turnovers, with 11 committing 20+ turnovers.
- Diamond Battles paces the Knights with 13.9 points per game, having reached double figures in 17 contests this season. The Winter Haven, Fla., native is one of four 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 saw a career-best double-digit scoring streak come to an end at eight game, but averages 9.3 points per game. Brittney Smith joins Kaba just shy of averaging double figures at 9.7 points per contest.
- Alisha Lewis, who tied The American and UCF single game records with 10 steals against Houston, ranks 18th in the country in steals per game, averaging 2.75. Her 66 steals ranks 35th among Division I student-athletes.
- Destiny Thomas leads UCF and ranks 137th nationally with 7.8 rebounds per game. She is one of six league players with nine or more games with 10+ rebounds this season.
SCOUTING TULSA
The Golden Hurricane are 15-8 overall with a 5-7 mark in league play. Tulsa won its final regular season home game, 61-49, over Wichita State on Feb. 27.
Five members of Tulsa's squad average double figures, led by Wyvette Mayberry's 13.8 points per game. Maya Mayberry adds 12.5 points per contest. Temira Poindexter averages 11.3 points and a team-leading 5.0 rebounds per game. Maddie Bittle and Rebecca Lescay average 10.1 and 10.0 points per game, respectively.
UCF leads the all-time series, 14-7, and have won seven straight over the Golden Hurricane.
NEXT UP
UCF heads to the 2022 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship as the No. 1 seed. The Knights earned a first-round bye for the sixth-straight year and will face the winner of No. 8 vs. No. 9 on March 8 at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
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