ORLANDO - The UCF women's basketball team will take on Samford and Southeast Missouri State in the UCF Thanksgiving Classic this weekend. The Knights will face Samford on Saturday, Nov. 26 and Southeast Missouri State on Sunday, Nov. 27, with both games tipping off at 2 p.m. All matchups will be hosted at Addition Financial Arena and will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Black and Gold continued their undefeated season on Tuesday, swiftly taking down ULM 78-54. After a slower start in the first half, the Knights found their footing and came back strong in the second half to secure the victory.
Three Knights earned double-digit point nights against the Warhawks, Rachel Ranke, Taylor Gibson and Destiny Thomas. Thomas scored a season-high 16 points, sinking seven of the 11 field goals she attempted. Ranke also notched a season-high 14 points, hitting one of her three three-pointers of the night at the beginning of the third quarter to start off the electric second half for the Knights. Gibson continues to improve with every game she plays, creating a new season-high points with 14 and a .500 field goal percentage.
The Black and Gold have improved defensively compared to the beginning of the season, allowing only 11 turnovers against ULM, roughly half the amount allowed against Winthrop during the season opener. Despite the slow start offensively, the defense was able to hold the Warhawks to just 29 points in the second half, with the offense scoring 47 points in that same timeframe.
Samford
The Bulldogs are currently on a three-game win streak, after losing their first three contests of the season against Vanderbilt, Troy, and Tennessee Tech, bringing their record to an even 3-3. Saturday will mark the second all-time meeting between Samford and UCF, with their last matchup being back in November of 2017. The Bulldogs took that game with a score of 58-51.
Senior Andrea Cournoyer currently leads the Bulldogs in points in her second season at Samford, racking up 134 in the six games played this season, averaging 22.3 points per game. The team as a whole averages 19.2 turnovers per game, compared to the Knights' 17.0.
Southeast Missouri State
The Redhawks are currently 2-2 on the 2022-23 season, dropping back-to-back games to Ole Miss and Missouri on their first road trip of the season. Sophomore Kennedi Watkins leads the scoring for the Redhawks, with 45 points in the four games she has played in this season.
This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams in program history and the Knights will look to take the edge in the all-time series record this weekend.