PROVO, UT — Senior guard Kaitlin Peterson eclipsed the 1,000-career points milestone against BYU Wednesday night in the Marriott Center, but the host Cougars came out on top 73-66.
UCF (8-13, 1-10 Big 12) led the night with nine steals off 19 turnovers, while BYU (11-10, 2-8) hit nine three-pointers to two for the Knights and also outrebounded the visitors, 44-38. The Black and Gold ended the day going 15-of-20 from the free throw line.
The Knights got off to a hot 6-0 start as the Knights won the quarter, 17-14, behind eight points from Peterson, and UCF continued to hold the lead, heading into the locker room with a one-point lead, 30-29.
The Cougars got off to a 6-0 run to take the lead in the third quarter and held that same five-point lead at the end of the period, despite Peterson netting her 1,000th career point at 5:02 with a layup off a turnover.
BYU built an 11-point lead, 67-56, with 3:25 remaining, and would not hit another field goal the remainder of the contest as the Knights turned up the defensive pressure and went on an 8-0 run, cutting the deficit to three points, 67-64, with just over a minute remaining. But a pair of missed UCF free throws stopped the momentum and the Cougars would knock down six free throws before Peterson made a layup as the time expired.
Peterson led the team with 19 points, while Nevaeh Brown recorded 15 points and Achol Akot tacked on 11. Khyala Ngodu added nine points and snagged eight rebounds.
Up Next:
The Knights continue their trip to Utah as they head to Salt Lake City for a matchup today (Saturday) against Utah at 3:30 p.m.
Here is the box score:
BYU 73, UCF 66
UCF (8-13, 1-10)
Kaitlin Peterson 5-24 9-10 19, Nevaeh Brown 6-12 2-2 15, Achol Akot 5-9 0-2 11, Khyala Ngodu 3-10 3-3 9, Ally Stedman 0-5 0-0 0, Adeang Ring 3-5 0-0 7, Mahogany Chandler-Roberts 2-4 1-3 5, Lucie Castagne 0-0 0-0 0. Totals _ 24-69 15-20 66.
BYU (12-10, 3-8)
Delaney Gibb 6-19 4-4 19, Emma Calvert 4-9 1-2 10, Amari Whiting 4-9 1-2 9, Kemery Congdon 2-7 2-2 8, Kambree Barber 2-3 2-3 7, Brinley Cannon 5-6 2-2 13, Lauren Davenport 2-3 0-0 5, Heather Hamson 1-1 0-0 2, Kendra Gillispie 0-1 0-0 0. Totals _ 26-58 12-17 73.
UCF 17 13 17 19 _ 66
BYU 14 15 23 21 _ 73
3-point field goals _ UCF 3-11 (Brown 1-3, Akot 1-2, Ring 1-1, Peterson 0-3, Stedman 0-2); BYU 9-27 (Ginn 3-13, Congdon 2-5, Calvert 1-3, Cannon 1-2, Davenport 1-2, Barber 1-1, Whiting 0-1). Team fouls _ UCF 14; BYU 18. Fouled out _ BYU (Calvert). Technical fouls _ none. Rebounds _ UCF 38 (Ngodu 8, Ring 7); BYU 44 (Barber 11, Calvert, Whiting 7 each, Congdon 6). Turnovers _ UCF 7; BYU 19. Assists _ UCF 8 (Brown 3); BYU 17 (Gibb, Whiting 5 each, Cannon 3). Steals _ UCF 9 (Akot 4, Ngodu 2); BYU 3 (Whiting 2). Blocked shots _ UCF 2 (Ring, Stedman); BYU 9 (Calvert, Barber 3 each, Whiting 2).
