TULSA, Okla. – Despite leading through three quarters of the game on the road, the UCF women's basketball team couldn't hold off a late comeback from Tulsa, as the Golden Hurricane rallied for a 70-60 victory Wednesday night inside the Reynolds Center.
In what will likely be the Knights' final trip to Tulsa with UCF heading to the Big 12 Conference next season, the Knights won the battle on the boards with a 41-29 margin, including 22 offensive rebounds, but unfortunately that didn't translate to the win.
The Knights (13-14, 4-11 AAC) led for 32 minutes, while the Golden Hurricane (17-12, 7-9) only led for six minutes but it proved to be enough to give Tulsa the win.
Heading into the fourth quarter with a six-point advantage at 43-37, the Knights extended their lead to nine points with 8:06 remaining after a three-pointer from Rachel Ranke. From there, Tulsa went on an 18-2 run, holding the Knights scoreless for a five-minute stretch. UCF cut the deficit to four at 61-57 following a jumper from Ranke, but Tulsa's Maya Mayberry answered on the next possession to push the Golden Hurricane lead back to seven points and they went on to earn a 10-point win.
Tulsa was a perfect 10-10 from the floor in the fourth quarter, 4-4 from the three-point line and 9-10 from the free throw line to overcome the six-points deficit it started the period. Temira Poindexter paced the Golden Hurricane with 11 of her 20 points in the final quarter.
Mya Burns tallied a game- and season-high 21 points for the Knights, including a 3-5 showing from behind the arc. Ranke contributed 15 points, as she drained four three-pointers. Destiny Thomas led all players in the contest with 16 rebounds, headlined by 10 offensive rebounds.
The Knights came out firing on all cylinders as they went 9-15 from the field and 3-4 from behind the arc in the first quarter. Kiera Brown's basket after a Tulsa turnover to give UCF a seven-point lead after the first 10 minutes, 25-18.
The second quarter was all defense as the Knights and Golden Hurricane were held to single digits with four and seven points, respectively. Bryana Hardy and Burns each recorded a field goal as the Knights headed to the locker room with a four-point lead, 29-25.
UP NEXT
UCF will be the No. 10 seed in next week's AAC Championship where the Knights will have a rematch against seventh-seeded Tulsa. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT from Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, and the game will air live on ESPN+.
