CINCINNATI, Ohio – Headlined by a career-high 35 points from Kaitlin Peterson, the Knights came up short against Cincinnati, 64-63, in Fifth Third Arena on Wednesday night.
UCF (9-5, 0-4 Big 12) knotted the game up early, 7-7, then a field goal from Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu gave the Knights the lead but Cincinnati (9-6, 1-3 Big 12) came back with a three to take the lead with 2:32 left in the first. The Bearcats wrapped up the first with a 10-point scoring run, 17-12.
Peterson hit a three-pointer to get the Knights within two points, 17-15 to start the second quarter. Cincinnati kept the lead throughout the second as the Knights and Bearcats tied with 11 points each to head into halftime with a score of 28-23.
The Black and Gold opened the third quarter with a 4-0 spurt to make it 30-27. The Bearcats shot 4-7 from beyond the arc to give them the edge 21-20 in the third.
It all came down to the final frame as the Knights continued to chip away at the Bearcats' lead. Peterson came in clutch with a shooting foul and shot 2-2 from the line to give the Knights a 63-62 lead. A quick second-chance layup from Cincinnati’s A’riel Jackson led the Bearcats to their first Big 12 conference victory.
Achol Akot went 6-6 from the field with 13 points and five rebounds. Khyala Ngodu added a team-high eight rebounds while Robinson-Nwawgu tallied seven boards.
The Knights will head back to Orlando as they host No. 24 West Virginia on Saturday, Jan. 13 with tip-off set for noon.