The Rundown
- The Knights wrap up their three away game stint with a flight to Houston as they matchup against Texas Southern Saturday, December 7 at 2 p.m.
- The Knights boast a 1-0 record against Texas Southern and this will be the first time the Black and Gold plays at H&PE Arena.
- Texas Southern averages 49 rebounds per game which ranks them fourth in the NCAA.
- The Knights is second in the Big 12 in offensive rebounds per game with 14.8 per game.
Scouting Texas Southern
- Texas Southern enters the matchup with a 1-5 overall record and are coming off a 101-29 loss to Baylor (12/4).
- Head coach Vernette Skeete is in her 3rd season and holds a 10-54 record with the Tigers.
- Courtlyn Loudermill leads the team in scoring with 81 points, averaging 16.2 points per game.
- Kaida Belton is first on the team with 45 rebounds and averages 9.0 rebounds per game.
A Win Would…
- Improve the Knights to 7-2 on the season
- Give the Knights their first road win of the season
- Improve the overall series between Texas Southern to 2-0
- Be better than a loss
Big 12 Weekly Awards Sweep
- For the first time in UCF women’s basketball history, the Knights swept the Big 12 conference awards with Kaitlin Peterson earning Player of the Week and Emely Rodriguez tabbed Freshman of the Week (11/25).
- Peterson tallied 79 points over three games with an average of 26.3 points per game.
- In Friday’s matchup against SIUE, Peterson tied her career high by recording 35 points, going 3-5 from beyond the arc and 11-17 from the field.
- The Eufaula, Alabama, native tallied her 30th double-digit game at UCF on Sunday when she scored 21 points.
- Rodriguez recorded another strong week in her rookie season with 35 points over three games.
- The La Romana, Dominican Republic, native tied her career high with 18 points in the Knights' 80-55 win against Florida A&M on Sunday.
- The freshman currently averages 13.5 points per game and is ranked first among freshmen in the Big 12 in scoring.
Strong Start
- The Knights 76-44 victory over Iona on Nov. 5 marked the seventh consecutive season opener victory for the Black and Gold.
- Since Coach Messer took over the program in 2022, the Knights have started out the season at home and are 3-0 in home openers in the Messer era.
- In Messer’s first year at the helm for UCF, she led her team to a 6-0 start which then marked the best start since the 7-0 start during the 1984-85 season.
- In just her second season, she broke the record with an 8-0 start to etch history into the record books with the best start in program history.
Rising to the Top
- Kaitlin Peterson once again leads the Knights in scoring with 20.0 points per game and is ranked No. 5 in the Big 12 and 23rd in the NCAA.
- Peterson recorded 35 points in the Knights 81-71 win against SIUE (11/22), the 35 points tied her career-high.
- The senior had a stellar debut season (23-24) for the Knights, as she led the Big 12 with 20.7 points per game.
- The senior was named to the All-Big 12 Second Team, marking the first Knight to earn a Big 12 award in their inaugural season in the Big 12.
- Peterson surpassed 500 points at Oklahoma State (Feb. 21), as she recorded 599 points last season and ranked 19th in the NCAA for points per game.
- She scored double digits in 27 of UCF’s 28 games last season and reached 20 points on 15 occasions.
Crashing the Boards
- Hannah Gusters leads the team with 9.4 rebounds per game, which ranks her fourth in the conference.
- Gusters recorded three straight games with a double-double in just the third week of games.
- Achol Akot is second on the team with 7.9 rebounds, she recorded a double-double against Stetson (11/16) with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
- Gusters has tallied double digits in rebounds in five games this season.
- The Dallas, Texas, native earned her first start with the Knights on Nov. 5 against Iona.
- She earned her first double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the Black and Gold’s first game of the 24-25 season against Iona (Nov. 5).
- Gusters has known Coach Messer since the eighth grade and has followed her to three universities (Baylor, LSU and UCF).
Knights in the Rankings
- As a team, UCF is ranked in the top 40 of the NCAA rankings in five categories.
- 17th: Free throw attempts per game (23.0)
- 29th: Free throws made per game (15.38)
- 29th: Rebound margin (10.1)
- 33rd: Fouls per game (14.3)
- 34th: Rebounds per game (43.13)
Double Trouble
- Hannah Gusters has had a hot start to the season as she has recorded five double doubles in just eight games this season.
- The Senior earned three straight double-doubles in just the third week of games.
- The five games ranks her for first in the Big 12 in double-doubles this season.
- The Dallas, Texas, native tallied a career-high 12 rebounds against Marquette (11/7).
Fresh Start
- Freshman, Emely Rodriguez started her collegiate career with 13 points against Iona in the Knights season opener Nov. 5.
- The Dominican Republic native tallied 18 points against Marquette (Nov. 7) which marked just her second game donning the Black and Gold.
- Rodriguez recorded three straight games with double-digit scoring and earned her first start against Stetson (11/16).