HOUSTON — The UCF women’s basketball team finished its regular season on a high note, snagging a 73-61 victory over Houston Sunday afternoon in the Fertitta Center.
The Knights (11-17, 4-14 Big 12) outrebounded Houston (5-24, 1-17) 40-27 and were able to hold off the Cougars despite forcing just just eight turnovers compared to the Black and Gold’s 14.
Four Knights scored in double digits for the fourth time this season. Kaitlin Peterson led the squad with 25 points, going 8-for-9 from the charity stripe. Nevaeh Brown recorded 13 points, going 4-for-9 from the field. Emely Rodriguez tallied 11 points and dished out four assists. Khyala Ngodu notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman Mahogany Chandler-Roberts continued her late-season improvement, going 4-for-6 from the floor for eight points and also pulled down 10 rebounds.
The teams traded baskets early, but a UCF drought midway through the first quarter allowed the hosts to take a 21-16 lead at the first break.
Houston was up six, 26-20, when a long 3-pointer by Rodriguez started a run that saw the Knights take the lead from good a 28-26 on an ‘and-1’ from Peterson with 4:07 left in the half. The guests were firing on all cylinders as the run stretched to 16-0 before the Cougars scored the final basket, giving UCF a 36-28 lead at intermission.
The Knights stayed hot, opening the second half with a 6-0 run (42-28) and finished the third period going 8-for-15 from the field (53%) as they held a 56-40 advantage heading into the final 10-minutes.
Brown led off the fourth with an ‘and-1’ and then Peterson made a jumper to give UCF its largest lead of the game, 61-41, with 9:01 left. Houston began to chip away at the Black and Gold’s lead, holding the guests with out a field goal to exactly six minutes, and getting to within 10 points with 1:15 left in regulation. Luckily, UCF was 8-for-10 from the free throw line over the final nine minutes to keep the hosts at bay.
Here is the box score:
UCF 73, Houston 61
UCF (11-17, 4-14)
Kaitlin Peterson 8-20 8-9 25, Nevaeh Brown 4-9 4-7 13, Emely Rodriguez 3-7 4-6 11, Khyala Ngodu 3-4 4-5 10, Mahogany Chandler-Roberts 4-6 0-0 8, Achol Akot 2-2 0-0 4, Ally Stedman 1-2 0-0 2, Adeang Ring 0-1 0-0 0, Lucie Castagne 0-0 0-0 0. Totals _ 25-51 20-27 73.
Houston (5-24, 1-17)
Eylia Love 9-18 1-2 20, Laila Blair 7-14 1-2 18, Gia Cooke 2-11 6-7 11, Peyton McFarland 2-7 3-4 7, Leilani Augmon 0-4 0-0 0, Kierra Merchant 1-4 3-4 5, Summer Bostock 0-1 0-0 0. Totals _ 21-59 14-19 61.
UCF 16 20 20 17 _ 73
Houston 21 7 12 21 _ 61
3-point field goals _ UCF 3-8 (Peterson 1-4, Brown 1-3, Rodriguez 1-1); Houston 5-18 (Blair 3-7, Cooke 1-5, Love 1-3, Augmon 0-2, Bostock 0-1). Team fouls _ UCF 13; Houston 16. Fouled out _ Houston (Blair). Technical fouls _ none. Rebounds _ UCF 40 (Ngodu, Chandler-Roberts 10 each, Akot, Rodriguez 5 each); Houston 27 (Augmon 6). Turnovers _ UCF 14; Houston 8. Assists _ UCF 10 (Rodriguez 4, Peterson 2); Houston 7 (Cooke 3, McFarland 2). Steals _ UCF 4 (Brown 2); Houston 7 (Merchant 3, Cooke 2). Blocked shots _ UCF 2 (Brown, Ngodu); Houston 5 (Merchant 4).
Up Next:
The Knights are in Kansas City, Missouri, for the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship. UCF will face BYU today (Wednesday) 5 at 11 a.m. inside T-Mobile Center.
Here is the schedule:
2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship
at T-Mobile Center
Kansas City, Missouri
First Round
Wednesday, March 5
Games on ESPN+
Game 1 _ No. 12 BYU vs. No. 13 UCF, noon.
Game 2 _ No. 9 Colorado vs. No. 16 Houston, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3 _ No. 10 Cincinnati vs. No. 15 Arizona State, 6:30 p.m.
Game 4 _ No. 11 Kansas vs. No. 14 Texas Tech, 9 p.m.
Second Round
Thursday, March 6
Games on ESPN+
Game 5 - No. 5 Kansas State vs. Game 1 Winner, noon.
Game 6 - No. 8 Arizona vs. Game 2 Winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 7 - No. 7 Iowa State vs. Game 3 Winner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 8 - No. 6 Utah vs. Game 4 Winner, 9 p.m.
Quarterfinals
Friday, March 7
Game 9 _ No. 4 West Virginia vs. Game 5 Winner, noon. (ESPNU)
Game 10 _ No. 1 TCU vs. Game 6 Winner, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 11 _ No. 2 Baylor vs. Game 7 Winner, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 12 _ No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. Game 8 Winner, 9 p.m. (ESPN+)
Semifinals
Saturday, March 8
Games on ESPN+
Game 13 _ Winner of Game 9 vs. Game 10 Winner, 4 p.m.
Game 14 _ Winner of Game 11 vs. Game 12 Winner, 6:30 p.m.
Final
Sunday, March 9 *
Game 15 _ Semifinal Winners, 5 p.m. (ESPN)
* Should BYU advance to the Championship the game will be played Monday, March 10.
