ORLANDO - The Knights head to Morgantown, West Virginia for their second matchup against West Virginia this season on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside WVU Coliseum.
The Rundown
• This contest will mark the third meeting between the teams and the second as Big 12 conference opponents, with the Mountaineers holding a 2-0 edge in the all-time series.
• UCF will play in Morgantown for the first time in program history.
• West Virginia has the second highest scoring margin in the Big 12 at 22.5 while the Knights sit at 5.1.
• Both teams take advantage of the freebies as West Virginia averages 21.0 free-throw attempts and UCF at 19.83.
• West Virginia is 1st in the NCAA averaging 14.9 steals per game whereas the Black and Gold average 7.4.
Scouting West Virginia
• West Virginia heads into the matchup with a 17-2 record, including a 6-2 mark in the Big 12.
• The Mountaineers enter Tuesday's game on a four-game winning streak.
• Head Coach Mark Kellogg is in his first season at West Virginia, he spent the previous eight years at Stephen F. Austin.
• West Virginia has three players who are averaging double digits in scoring JJ Quinerly leads the team with 19.2 points per game followed by Jordan Harrison with 14.2 and Lauren Fields adds 10.5.
• Harrison averages 5.7 assists per game, which ranks her for second in the Big 12.
• As a team, the Mountaineers are No. 2 in the Big 12 and 26th in the NCAA for scoring defense (55.8).
A Win Would…
• Give the Knights their second win in Big 12 conference play
• Improve their record to 11-8
• Give UCF its first win over West Virginia
• Give Sytia Messer her 25th win at UCF
• Be better than a loss
Rising to the Top
• Junior Kaitlin Peterson is having a stellar debut season for the Knights, as she is first in the Big 12 with 21.5 points per game.
• The Eufaula, Alabama, native tallied 32 points against Baylor to mark her fourth game this season with 30 or more points, which leads the Big 12.
• In UCF’s eight conference games, Peterson is averaging 24.0 points per game to lead the league. She set a career high with 35 points at Cincinnati on Jan. 10.
• Kaitlin Peterson set yet another career-high in scoring with 35 points at Cincinnati (1/10).
• Peterson started her UCF career with 31 points in the Knights’ 101-63 victory against Bethune-Cookman, which was a career high at the time. She was 6-10 from beyond the arc and 12-19 from the field, adding in one free throw.
• She’s scored double digits in 17 of UCF’s 18 games this season and has reached 20 points on 10 occasions.
Double-Double Duo
• A pair of double-doubles from Khyala Ngodu and Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu lifted the Knights to a 92-87 win over Houston on Jan. 27.
• The frontcourt duo combined for 20 of UCF’s 44 first half points.
• Ngodu recorded a career-high 25 points, grabbing 12 rebounds for her first double-double of the season and the first of her career. She also had three blocks and tallied one block.
• Robinson-Nwagwu added 12 points, pulling down 10 rebounds for the first double-double of her career. She also had a game-high five assists for the Knights.
• The pair became the first UCF duo since Taylor Gibson and Destiny Thomas to record two double-doubles in one game. Gibson and Thomas achieved the accomplishment on Nov. 27, 2022 against SEMO.
50 = Magic Number
• The Black and Gold are 4-0 when limiting their opponent to 50 points or less.
• From Nov. 24 through Dec. 19, the Knights held five of their seven opponents to less than 50 points.
• UCF held Campbell (12/3) and Morgan State (12/19) to just 41 points marking the lowest points against an opponent this season.
Déjà Vu
• Kaitlin Peterson recorded back-to-back 20-plus point games on Jan. 3 and 6, tallying 22 points in both games against Oklahoma State and Kansas State.
• Peterson’s achievement marked the first time a UCF player has recorded consecutive 20-point games since the 2021-22 season when Diamond Battles scored 21 points in back-to-back games on Jan. 22 and 26.
20-plus Margin
• The Knights are 4-0 when they outscore their opponents by at least 20 points.
• UCF led off the season by outscoring Bethune-Cookman 101-62, a 39-point differential.
Spreading the Wealth
• UCF is 9-1 when it records more assists than its opponent.
• Eight Knights have led UCF in assists at least one game this season.
• Laila Jewett has led the team in assists throughout 10 games this season and ranks 17th in the Big 12 with 3.4 assists per game.
• The Black and Gold average 12.1 assists per game.