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UCF Defeats South Alabama, 85-59, for Second Home Victory of Lazo EraUCF Defeats South Alabama, 85-59, for Second Home Victory of Lazo Era

UCF Defeats South Alabama, 85-59, for Second Home Victory of Lazo Era

by Pedro Lagoeiro
Box Score

ORLANDO – UCF Women's Basketball (2-1) returned to the win column Monday night, defeating South Alabama (1-2), 85-59, at Addition Financial Arena. The victory marked the Knights' second win under head coach Gabe Lazo, as UCF improved to 2-0 at home this season.

Junior Mahogany Chandler-Roberts led the way for the Knights once again, setting career highs with 21 points and 4 blocks. This marks the forward's second-consecutive game setting a career high in points, following her 20-point performance at Florida on Nov. 6. UCF bounced back from its road loss to Florida with a strong performance on its home court.

QUICK HITS

  • Mahogany Chandler-Roberts set career highs in both points (21) and blocks (4), surpassing her previous bests of 20 points against Florida on Nov. 6, 2026, and three blocks against Kansas on March 4, 2026.
  • Nyla McFadden grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, surpassing her previous best of nine against USC on Feb. 25, 2026.
  • Vittoria Blasigh tied her career high, grabbing four steals on the night.
  • UCF recorded five blocks against South Alabama, bringing its season total to 17, the second most in the Big 12.
  • The Knights have maintained their strong home-court performance from last season, when they posted a 7-2 non-conference record at Addition Financial Arena, opening the Gabe Lazo era with two consecutive home victories.
  • The Knights improved to 11-4 dating back to the start of last season when shooting over 45 percent from the field.

It’s a big week. We have three games. It’s a grind; we were short a couple bodies that are in the rotation, so we found a couple ways to rotate players and give everybody a chance. Really proud of Nyla McFadden today – she had 11 rebounds. She was our leading rebounder, and that’s huge for us. We need her to do that.

Gabe LazoHead Coach

HOW IT HAPPENED

Candace Kpetikou opened the scoring for the Knights with a jumper before Nyla McFadden converted a three-point play to give UCF an early 13-4 advantage. Jasmynne Gibson provided a spark on the offensive glass, converting two second-chance opportunities, including an and-one, to extend the lead to 19-10.

Gibson finished the opening period with five points and four rebounds as the Knights carried a 21-13 advantage into the second quarter.

Kya Hurt helped extend UCF's lead midway through the second quarter, knocking down a pair of free throws before connecting from beyond the arc on the following possession to put the Knights ahead, 31-18.

Vittoria Blasigh added a jumper with a minute remaining to give UCF a 12-point advantage. Hurt nearly capped the half with a three-quarter-court buzzer-beater, but the shot was waved off after leaving her hand just after the horn.

Chandler-Roberts anchored the Knights defensively in the opening half, recording four blocks before the break.

South Alabama cut the deficit to eight points coming out of halftime, but Chandler-Roberts responded with a three-point play to push the Knights' lead back to double digits.

Hurt connected from beyond the arc with just over six minutes remaining as UCF began to pull away. The Knights used a 15-2 run to extend their advantage to 52-31, with Chandler-Roberts accounting for nine points during the stretch.

Chandler-Roberts continued her strong performance into the fourth quarter, knocking down her second three-pointer of the season to reach a career-high 21 points. The shot extended UCF's lead to 23 points, and the Knights never looked back.

Vittoria Blasigh added eight points in the final period to finish with 13, while Kpetikou and Caitlyn Jones contributed 14 and 12 points, respectively.

UP NEXT

The Knights remain in Orlando for the second game of a five-game homestand, hosting Austin Peay on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Addition Financial Arena for International Knight.

SINGLE GAME AND SEASON TICKETS ON SALE

UCF women's basketball single-match and season tickets are on sale now. Be sure to catch all the action at Addition Financial Arena. Tickets can be purchased online at ucfknights.com/tickets or by calling the ticket office at (407) 823-1000.

ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS

UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program, representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.