ORLANDO – The UCF women's basketball team returns to action for the first time in 2023, making the midweek trip to Dallas for the American Athletic Conference opener against SMU.
The Knights (9-3) and Mustangs (9-4, 0-1 AAC) tip at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday and the game will stream on ESPN+.
CHARGING ON TO CONFERENCE PLAY
UCF opens American Athletic Conference action on the road for the second season in a row, after starting league play at Tulane last year.
The Knights were picked to finish eighth in the conference's preseason poll voted on by The American's 11 head coaches.
Last year, UCF started AAC play with a 54-47 win against Tulane in New Orleans. The Knights won their first four conference games before enduring their only loss against Cincinnati. UCF followed the loss by winning its final 10 regular-season league games.
UCF won The American regular season and conference championship last year.
KNIGHT NOTES
The Black and Gold polished off non-conference play with a 9-3 record and ride a three-game win streak entering Tuesday. UCF held six of its 11 non-conference opponents to less than 60 points.
Destiny Thomas paces the Knights with 12.5 points per game, having reached double figures in eight of UCF's 11 contests. Thomas has collected seven double-doubles this season and leads the Black and Gold with 12.0 rebounds per game.
In UCF's last outing, a 92-67 win against Texas Southern, Anzhané Hutton recorded a career-high 22 points and is averaging 10.3 points per game since making her debut in a Knights uniform.
SCOUTING SMU
The Mustangs sit at 9-4 overall following a conference-opening loss to Houston on Dec. 30. SMU is second in the conference in scoring defense and defensive rebounding percentage.
Embry Chantae leads two members of the SMU squad averaging double figures with 12.4 points per game.
The Mustangs hold a 13-12 overall edge in the all-time series, but the Knights have won the last six matchups, most recently a 67-57 victory in Orlando.
