STORRS, Conn. – The No. 24 UCF women's basketball team continues action at the 2022 NCAA Tournament on Monday, facing No. 5 UConn in the second round in Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn.
The seventh-seeded Knights (26-3) and second-seeded Huskies (26-5) tip at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
GAME INFO
Date: Monday, March 21
Time: 9 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN
Listen: Twitch
NCAA Tournament Central
HISTORY MAKERS
• UCF continues to make history as the Knights won the first NCAA Tournament game in program history on Saturday, earning a 69-52 win over Florida.
• The No. 7 seed in the Bridgeport Region, UCF has earned its highest seed in the NCAA Tournament in each of its last three appearances under head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson.
• The Knights made their debut in the national polls this season, climbing as high as No. 23 in the USA Today/WBCA poll. UCF enters the NCAA Tournament ranked 24th in both the coaches poll and the Associated Press Top 25.
• UCF enters the second round on a 14-game win streak, the longest streak in program history.
SECOND ROUND MATCHUP
The Knights face the second seed UConn in the NCAA Second Round. The Huskies earned their 33rd overall and straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. UCF is familiar with UConn as the programs were conference foes for UConn's seven years is the American Athletic Conference. UConn has won each of the previous 13 meetings.
Four Huskies average double figures, led by Christyn Williams' 14.6 points per game. Paige Bueckers averages 14.1 while Azzi Fudd and Caroline Ducharme add 12.2 and 11.2 points per contest, respectively. Olivia Nelson-Ododa pulls down 7.4 rebounds per contest and lead UConn with 3.8 assists per game.
KNIGHT LEADERS
• Diamond Battles paces the Knights with 14.0 points per game, having reached double figures in 22 contests this season. The Winter Haven, Fla., native became the first Knight to be named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and was a unanimous first team all-conference honoree.
• Brittney Smith has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 11 of the last 14 games. She is UCF's second-leading scorer at 10.7 points per game. She was named The American Sixth Player of the Year.
• Masseny Kaba is just shy of averaging double figures at 9.9 points per game. She is tied for sixth on the single season chart with 40 blocks.
• Alisha Lewis, who tied The American and UCF single game records with 10 steals against Houston, ranks 24th in the country in steals per game, averaging 2.66. Her 77 steals put her in a tie for 10th on UCF's single season chart and ranks 29th among Division I student-athletes.
• Destiny Thomas leads UCF and ranks 135th nationally with 7.9 rebounds per game. She has 10 games with 10+ rebounds this season.
DOMINANT DEFENSE
• In typical UCF fashion during the Coach ABE era, the Knights are among the best in the country defensively.
• In each of her six seasons at the helm, UCF has held its opponents under 57 points per game. The Knights are holding opponents to 47.6 points per game, not only the best mark under Coach ABE, but also in program history.
• For the second straight year, UCF leads the nation in scoring defense.
• The Black and Gold have held 18 opponents to 50 points or under, with seven - Duquesne, Virginia, South Florida, Wichita State, Temple, Cincinnati, Tulsa and SMU - failing to reach 40 points.
• The Black and Gold are also holding their opponents to a 33.2 field goal percentage this season, which ranks second in the country. They rank 14th nationally in steals per game, averaging 11.0.
• UCF has forced each opponent this season into double-digit turnovers, with 12 committing 20+ turnovers. The Knights rank 23rd nationally in turnovers forced at 19.76 per game.
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