The Rundown
- The Knights return from Fort Worth, Texas, for a Saturday afternoon matchup against No. 24 Oklahoma State at 4 p.m.
- This will be the second ranked matchup for the Knights this week and the fourth this season.
- Oklahoma State ranks second in the Big 12 averaging 30.3 defensive rebounds per game.
- UCF is third in the league with 20.63 free throw attempts per game.
Scouting Oklahoma State
- Oklahoma State enters the matchup with a 14-3 overall record and 4-2 in the Big 12.
- Head coach Jacie Hoyt is in her 8th season overall and third season with the Cowgirls boasting a 49-31 record.
- Stailee Heard ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 8.1 rebounds per game and was named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association list on Monday.
- Micah Gray is second in the league with 137 three point attempts, 48 three pointers and 2.82 three-pointers per game.
A Win Would…
- Improve the Knights to 8-9 on the season
- Give the Knights their first Big 12 conference win of the season
- Give UCF its first win against the Cowgirls
- Be the first time since Jan. 16, 2022 that the Knights have beat a ranked opponent
- 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 the Nov. 22 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.
Milestone Watch
- Kaitlin Peterson has recorded 936 points in her collegiate career, she is 64 points away from 1,000 points.
- This season Peterson has put up 30+ points on three occasions.
- The Eufaula, Alabama, native recorded a career-high 39 points against Texas Southern on Dec. 7.
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 21.7 points per game and is ranked No. 2 in the Big 12 and ninth in the NCAA.
- Peterson recorded a career-high 39 points at Texas Southern (12/7), which ranks seventh in the NCAA.
- She has recorded 11 games in double digits this season and reached 35-plus points on two occasions.
- 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
- Achol Akot is first on the team with 7.3 rebounds and ranks eighth in the Big 12.
- Akot recorded a double-double against Stetson (11/16) with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
- Hannah Gusters is second on the team with 6.8 rebounds per game, which ranks 12th in the conference.
- Gusters recorded three straight games with a double-double in just the third week of games.
- Gusters has tallied double digits in rebounds in six 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).
Knights in the Rankings
- As a team, UCF is ranked in the top 5 of the Big 12 conference rankings in four categories.
- 3rd: Free throw attempts per game (20.63)
- 4th: Rebounds (offensive) per game (13.0)
- 4th: Free throws made per game (14.31)
- 4th: Steals per game (9.2)