HOUSTON - UCF women’s basketball fought back from a 21-point deficit, but was unable to overcome Houston, 68-67, in the Fertitta Center Saturday night.
The Knights (12-16, 3-15 Big 12) outrebounded the Cougars (14-15, 5-13) 41-31. Both teams tied with 11 assists.
Kaitlin Peterson tallied 34 points en route to her fifth 30-plus point game this season, which leads the league. Mya Burns recorded seven rebounds on the night while Laila Jewett dished out four assists.
Turnovers continued to be the Knights’ Achilles heel recording eight in the first quarter and 20 through the entire game. Peterson ignited a 9-0 run to tie the game early with 1:15 left in the first but the Cougars took the lead to earn a one-point edge following the end of the first, 14-13.
Houston continued to hold onto the lead throughout the second quarter and headed into halftime with a six-point advantage, 33-27.
The Cougars came out of half and gained as much as a 21-point lead. The Black and Gold chipped away at Houston’s lead as Peterson hit a three-pointer that sparked an 8-0 run to end the third quarter, 56-43.
UCF kept the pressure on with its scoring to get within three points following a three-point play from Peterson with seven minutes left in the game. Burns made a three-pointer from a turnover to knot the game with 6:31 left on the clock. The Cougars and Knights continued to trade points back and forth until the Knights were halted with a scoring drought in the last 2:06 of play. A 6-0 run in the final waning minutes of the game to give Houston the 68-67 triumph.
UP NEXT
UCF will head to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Kansas City, Missouri as the No. 14 seed and will look to face No. 11 seed Cincinnati on Thursday, March 7 at 8 p.m.