ORLANDO — Nevaeh Brown recorded her 1,000th career point to help the UCF women’s basketball team triumph over Arizona State, 85-76, Wednesday night in Addition Financial Arena.
UCF (9-14 overall, 2-11 Big 12) forced 20 turnovers and collected 14 steals while ASU (8-17, 2-11) led the night with 39 rebounds and five blocks. Both teams recorded 14 assists a piece.
Kaitlin Peterson, who was honored before the game for reaching the 1,000 career point plateau last week, led the Knights in scoring, racking up 34 points followed by Brown (19) and Emely Rodriguez (15). Brown’s standout performance included five assists and marked her first game as a Knight with zero turnovers.
UCF came onto the court hot, forcing more Arizona State turnovers (11) than points allowed in the first quarter (10). The Knights’ stellar defensive performance paid off on the other end where they converted those stops into 14 of their 29 points. After falling behind 2-0, Peterson completed an ‘and-one’ to ignite a 12-2 run early for the Knights. After the Sun Devils cut the deficit to 15-10, the Black and Gold closed the period with a 14-0 run.
ASU came out in the second quarter with renewed energy and turned the momentum in its favor, using an 18-3 run to get within a point, 33-32, but the Knights would score the final six points to lead by seven at the half, 39-32.
The Sun Devils traded points with the Knights throughout the third, grasping to stay within striking range. However, a trio of threes from Rodriguez, who made her return from a five-game absence due to injury, gave UCF the boost it needed to outscore ASU 24-19 and stretch its lead back to double-digits, 63-51.
Although the Black and Gold were outscored 25-22 in the final quarter, their lead never dropped below eight points. Brown sank a free throw to record her 15th point of the night and her 1,000th point of her career.
Up Next:
The Knights hit the road for a pair of games in Kansas, beginning today (Saturday) in Manhattan, where they will face No. 14 Kansas State at 5 p.m. The team will then head to Lawrence to challenge Kansas at legendary Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be streamed by ESPN+.
Here is the box score:
UCF 85, Arizona State 76
Arizona State (8-17, 2-11)
Jalyn Brown 5-13 9-10 22, Tyi Skinner 6-11 0-0 14, Jyah LoVett 4-8 0-0 11, Nevaeh Parkinson 5-8 0-0 10, Kennedy Basham 4-8 2-3 10, Makayla Moore 3-8 0-0 7, Jazion Jackson 1-6 0-0 2, Heavenly Greer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals _ 28-62 11-13 76.
UCF (9-14, 2-11)
Kaitlin Peterson 12-24 6-9 34, Nevaeh Brown 4-12 11-14 19, Mahogany Chandler-Roberts 3-10 0-0 6, Khyala Ngodu 1-3 3-4 5, Achol Akot 1-6 0-0 2, Emely Rodriguez 5-8 2-2 15, Adeang Ring 2-3 0-0 4, Ally Stedman 0-0 0-0 0. Totals _ 28-66 22-29 85.
Arizona State 10 22 19 25 _ 76
UCF 29 10 24 22 _ 85
3-point field goals _ Arizona State 9-22 (Brown 3-7, LoVett 3-4, Skinner 2-4, Moore 1-5, Jackson 0-2); UCF 7-20 (Peterson 4-12, Rodriguez 3-4, Brown 0-3, Chandler-Roberts 0-1). Team fouls _ Arizona State 23; UCF 12. Fouled out _ none. Technical fouls _ none. Rebounds _ Arizona State 39 (Basham 11, Moore 8, Brown, Parkinson 5 each); UCF 37 (Akot, Chandler-Roberts 9 each, Ngodu 7). Turnovers _ Arizona State 20; UCF 12. Assists _ Arizona State 14 (Moore 5, LoVett 4, Skinner, Jackson 2 each); UCF 14 (Brown 5, Chandler-Roberts, Akot 3 each, Rodriguez 2). Steals _ Arizona State 6 (Moore 3, Jackson 2); UCF 14 (Peterson 4, Akot, Rodriguez, Ring 2 each). Blocked shots _ Arizona State 5 (Basham 3); UCF 3 (Brown 2).
