The Rundown
• UCF heads to Puerto Rico for the Discover Puerto Rico Classic in San Juan.
• The Knights will play a total of three games, starting off with Jackson State (Nov. 23), St, John’s (Nov. 24) and Sacred Heart (Nov. 25).
• This will be the first matchup against Jackson State and Sacred Heart in program history.
• The Knights will face off against St. John’s for the fourth time with the Thunderbirds leading the series 3-0.
• The Knights are coming off a three-game homestand with a 3-0 record.
• Heading to Puerto Rico will be the first business trip for the Knights this season, as the Black and Gold scheduled all other non-conference games at home.
Last Time Out
• In a back-and-forth thrilling victory, the UCF women’s basketball team held on to beat Auburn and earn its third win of the season Monday night in Addition Financial Arena.
• Laila Jewett led the Knights with 19 points as she went 7-11 from the field adding in three from beyond the arc. Kaitlin Peterson recorded her third consecutive double-digit game with 16 points. Jayla Kelly and Peterson tallied seven rebounds apiece.
• Joining Peterson and Jewett in double figures on the night was Mya Burns with 12. The group all contributed in sending the Knights to earn their third win of the season.
It’s Raining Threes
• In the NCAA rankings, the Knights are ranked No. 7 with a three-point percentage of 44.4.
• Laila Jewett leads the Knights boasting 70 percent from beyond the arc, good enough to be ranked No. 5 in the NCAA.
• Kaitlin Peterson is ranked 38th in the NCAA averaging three triples per game.
Give ‘Em The Freebies
• As a team, the Black and Gold are ranked 10th in the nation with a free throw percentage of 83.6.
• Headlined by shooting 8-8 from the charity stripe, Taylor Gibson is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA for free throw percentage.
• In the matchup against Anderson on Nov. 13, the Black and Gold recorded a season-high 24 free throws made along with a .857 shooting percentage from the line.
• In the Big 12, the Knights are tied for 2nd with BYU in three-point percentage with West Vrigina leading the pack (45.2).
Discover Puerto Rico Classic
• The Black and Gold will head to San Juan, Puerto Rico to play three games in the Discover Puerto Rico Classic.
• The Knights last trip to San Juan was during the 2001-02 season in the San Juan Shootout.
• UCF will face Jackson State (Nov. 23), St. John’s (Nov. 24) and Sacred Heart (Nov. 25).
• All games will be streamed on FloHoops with tip times set for 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday then 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Starting the season on 100
• UCF started the season off with a 101-63 win against Bethune-Cookman on Nov. 6 marking the fifth consecutive season-opening victory, all of which have come on its home floor.
• The Knights also scored at least 90 points in a season-opener for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign, when they topped Florida Atlantic 94-74 Nov. 14.
• UCF topped 100 points in a single game for the first time since January 26, 1998, in its 102-70 victory at Troy.
• The Knights limited BCU to 16 or fewer points in three of the four quarters.
• With 13 3-point field goals, the comfortable victory also featured the second time in as many seasons that saw UCF drill at least 10 triples in its season-opening win. The team drained 11 3-point shots in its 2022-23 season-opening win over Winthrop, representing its lone contest with double-digit threes.
No. 3 goes for 30-plus
• Junior mid-year transfer Kaitlin Peterson dropped a career-high 31 points in her first game as a Knight.
• Peterson shot 6-10 from beyond the arc and 12-19 from the field adding in one free throw.
• Marking it her second career game in double digits, and her first since Feb. 9, 2022, at Illinois.
• She also notched the first 30-plus point game by a Knight since Laila Jewett scored 34 in UCF’s 79-74 win over Samford Nov. 26, 2022.
New Faces on the Court
• In UCF ‘s season opener on Nov. 6 against Bethune-Cookman, a total of four Knights made their debut on the hardwood including Kaitlin Peterson, Timia Ware, Achol Akot and Jayla Kelly.
• Peterson, Ware and Akot all started for the Black and Gold and each played significant minutes.
• Akot was the sole freshman that played in the home-opener recording a game-high 14 rebounds highlighted by eight offensive rebounds and three steals.
• Khyala Ngodu made her college debut on Nov. 13 against Anderson recording five points in just three minutes of play.
Back On Campus
• UCF returns seven players from last year’s roster.
• Taylor Gibson, Mya Burns, Sierra Godbolt, Laila Jewett and Anzhané Hutton all saw court time last season.
• Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu and Asia Todd both missed the entire 2022-23 season due to injury.
Duo of Mid-Year Transfers
• Kaitlin Peterson (Indiana) and Timia Ware (LSU) transferred mid-year from their respective schools but were only able to practice with UCF due to playing games during the fall semester.
• Peterson played in six games during the fall where she recorded 24 points and five rebounds.
• Ware appeared in one game at LSU before transferring to UCF in December.
Welcome to Orlando
• Four new faces joined the UCF program in the offseason.
• A freshman duo of Achol Akot and Khyala Ngodu arrived in Orlando, along with the transfer class that includes Jayla Kelly (Missouri) and Mary McMillan (UNC-Wilmington).
• Kelly appeared in 26 games last season averaging 3.2 points and 2.7 rebounds.
• McMillan played in five games before suffering a season-ending injury.
Going International
• Freshman Achol Akot spent her summer playing with U19 Team Canada.
• Team Canada went on to earn bronze in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Spain with a win over France.
• Akot averaged 14.8 minutes in seven games along with 5.9 rebounds.
New Staff, New Era
• The Knights brought in five new faces to join the women’s basketball program.
• Chandler McCabe joined the staff as assistant coach in May, along with Erin Horne as director of operations.
• Tasha Taylor was added to the UCF women’s basketball coaching staff as an assistant coach in July 2023.
• Mike Carey, a 34-year collegiate coaching veteran with Big 12 Conference experience, enters his first season with the Knights in 2023-24.
• Walter Pitts rounds out the staff as assistant coach and director of player development.
Reppin’ the Swoosh
• UCF Athletics has renewed its contract with Nike.
• A new five-year deal keeps Nike as the official apparel and footwear provider of the Knights through the 2028-29 academic year.
• UCF will continue to work directly with Nike as the official supplier of uniforms, equipment and apparel for UCF Athletics.
• “As a Nike school since 2010, UCF has experienced tremendous growth with this partnership, and we will continue to elevate in the Big 12 Conference,” says UCF vice president and director of athletics Terry Mohajir.
• “Nike has allowed us to innovate and enhance our brand among some of the best in the country. We look forward to our direct collaboration with our partners at Nike and their renewed commitment and belief in UCF Athletics.”
New Kids on the Block
• UCF officially joined the Big 12 Conference on July 1, 2023.
• The Knights’ athletics program has now moved from Division III, Division II, the FCS level, the FBS level that included time in the Mid Atlantic Conference, Conference USA, the American Athletic Conference, and now to the Big 12 Conference.
• The Knights enter the Power 5 as the youngest school, having been founded in 1963 to supply NASA with engineers.
• UCF joined the conference with Cincinnati, Houston and BYU to push the conference to 14 women’s basketball programs.
We>Me
• Coach Messer and her team came up with a motto for this year ‘We are greater than me’.
• We are greater than me means that we are greater than ourselves and its important for us to work together as a team rather than as a single individual.