FORT WORTH, Texas – The No. 25 UCF women's basketball team pulled away in the second half on its way to a 69-54 win over eighth-seeded Tulsa in the quarterfinals of 2022 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship on Tuesday in Dickies Arena.
UCF (23-3) outscored Tulsa (16-10) in each quarter to extend its win streak to 11 games. The Knights poured in 32 points in the paint and held a 50-20 rebounding edge. UCF scored 30 points off 19 turnovers by the Golden Hurricane.
The Knights jumped out to a 4-0 lead and led by as many as five points, 8-3, in the opening period, but Tulsa rallied at the end of the frame. A basket from Brittney Smith with 25 seconds left gave UCF a 13-12 edge after the first 10 minutes.
The Black and Gold opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run and maintained their lead, taking a 30-24 advantage into the locker rooms.
Tulsa came out of the break on an 8-0 run to take a 32-30 lead, but UCF responded with a 6-0 run of its own to reclaim the lead. The Golden Hurricane were able to pull within three, 40-37, with 5:42 left in the third, but the Knights closed the period outscoring Tulsa 15-5 to take a 55-42 advantage into the final quarter.
UCF maintained a double-digit lead in the fourth, topping Tulsa 69-54 to advance to the semifinals for the sixth straight year.
The Knights finished with 22 assists on 27 field goals. Alisha Lewis led the way, matching her career high with 8. Diamond Battles and Tay Sanders each dished out five.
Four Knights finished in double figures led by a career-high 23 points from Masseny Kaba. Brittney Smith tallied her second straight double-double with a season-high 19 points and 11 rebounds. Battles added 11 points and Lewis chipped in 10. Sanders finished with a season-best 10 rebounds.
The Knights face fifth-seeded SMU at 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday in Dickies Arena.
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