ORLANDO — A strong start and three Knights scoring in double digits led to a dominant 82-53 victory for the UCF women’s basketball team Tuesday morning.
UCF (4-0) started the Kid’s Day Game with a layup from Kaitlin Peterson to open the first quarter. Summer Yancy came off the bench to knock down a pair of three-pointers in the first few minutes of the game that helped the freshman collect eight of the 18 Knights points in the first 10 minutes. The' defense also shined, holding North Florida (1-4) to a scoring drought of just over six minutes, while the hosts poured in 12 consecutive points. The Black and Gold ended the first period with a 10-point lead, 18-8.
UCF began the second continuing to put pressure on UNF, going on an early scoring run to open the quarter. Peterson, who missed the previous game against Stetson, led the offense in the second frame with 10 points and recorded two offensive rebounds. The Knights bested the Ospreys in several categories in the second quarter, including 24 points compared to North Florida’s 15, and rebounds, securing 11 to North Florida’s five, while carrying a 42-23 lead into the halftime intermission.
UCF continued to hold off the Ospreys offense in the third period, only giving up eight points to match the points allowed in the first. Khyala Ngodu led the scoring in the third with five points and the Black Gold looked strong on the defensive side as well, pulling down eight defensive rebounds and forcing five turnovers. The Knights continued to stretch their lead, going on a 13-0 run for the last five minutes of the quarter to carry a 30-point advantage, 61-31, into the final 10 minutes.
Yancy opened up the final frame with back-to-back layups in the first two minutes and scored six points in the quarter, but UNF refused to quit. Trailing by 31, 65-34, with 8:48 left on the clock, Jamisyn Stinson entered the game and proceeded to bury four consecutive 3-point shots before Kaila Rougier added a fifth consecutive ‘triple’ to cut the deficit to 16 points, 65-49, with 6:15 remaining.
But the Knights would then answer with a 13-0 run over the next 2:45, as Hannah Gusters revived the offense with a layup and a jumper off a rebound and Peterson capped the outburst with her 23rd point of the day, making the score 78-49 with 3:34 left.
In addition to Peterson’s 23-point performance, two other Knights recorded double-digits on the day. Yancy totaled 14 points, matching her career high and Gusters also notched 14 points to go along with 11 rebounds, her second double-double of the season.
Up Next:
UCF continued a season-opening 6-game homestand against Southern Illinois (SIUE) on Friday and will be back in Addition Financial Arena on Sunday to battle FAMU at 1 p.m. The game will streamed on ESPN+.
Here is the box score:
UCF 82, North Florida 53
University of North Florida (1-4)
Syndey Pettis 0-4 0-0 0, Jasmynne Gibson 1-8 0-0 2, Jazmine Spencer 3-12 0-0 8, Helena Rafnsdottir 3-6 0-0 7, Kaila Rougier 2-6 0-0 5, Sarah Taub 2-3 4-5 8, Nia Brown 0-2 0-0 0, Selma Eklund 1-3 1-2 3, Jamisyn Stinson 5-6 0-0 15, Nicole Carreno 2-5 0-0 5, Anja Ekstrom 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-55 5-7 53.
UCF (4-0)
Achol Akot 4-6 0-0 8, Hannah Gusters 7-9 0-0 14, Kaitlin Peterson 9-22 4-4 23, Emely Rodriguez 3-5 1-2 8, Ally Stedman 1-5 0-0 2, Nevaeh Brown 0-3 0-0 0, Summer Yancy 4-6 4-4 14, Khyala Ngodu 2-2 3-4 7, Lucie Castagne 0-0 0-0 0, Mahogany Chandler-Roberts 2-4 0-0 4, Adeang Ring 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 33-64 12-15 82.
UNF 8 15 8 22 _ 53
UCF 18 24 19 21 _ 82
3-point field goals _ UNF 10-32 (Stinson 5-6, Spencer 2-7, Rafnsdottir 1-4, Rougier 1-3, Carreno 1-2, Gibson 0-4, Pettis 0-3, Brown 0-2, Taub 0-1); UCF 4-14 (Yancy 2-4, Peterson 1-7, Rodriguez 1-2, Stedman 0-1). Team fouls _ UNF 18; UCF 13. Fouled out _ none. Technical fouls _ none. Rebounds _ UNF 25 (Gibson 9); UCF 43 (Gusters 11, Akot 7, Peterson, Rodriguez 5 each). Turnovers _ UNF 20; UCF 14. Assists _ UNF 11 (Spencer 4); UCF 19 (Brown 5, Stedman 4). Steals _ UNF 5 (Taub 3); UCF 9 (Peterson 3, Rodriguez 2). Blocked shots _ UNF 3 (Pettis, Rougier, Brown); UCF 4 (Gusters 2).
