JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The UCF women’s basketball team took the fight to Florida but the Gators were able to ride out a big third quarter to hang on for a 93-79 win in the American/SEC Challenge at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on Wednesday night.
Meeting for the first time in five years, the Knights led at the end of the first quarter and trailed by just four points at halftime.
The Knights found themselves down by as much as 23 in the third quarter but pulled back within 10 points with 5 minutes remaining in the game. Although UCF outscored the Gators by seven in the final period, UF’s 34-17 edge in the third period proved to be the difference maker.
UCF received monster performances from juniors Zykira Lewis and Joslyn Massey. Lewis tallied her third 20-point game of the season with a game-high 28 points and as a result, etched her name among UCF’s career top 10 scoring leaders. Massey recorded a career-high 20 points and game-high 10 rebounds.
“Proud of our fight,” UCF head coach Joi Williams said. “We came out and started the game like we talked about. When we went down, we talked about not quitting. We talked about continue to fight and that’s what they did.”