UCF loses Big 12 Opener to BYU, 71-50

UCF Knights Women’s Hoops opened conference play Saturday hosting the Brigham Young University Cougars at Addition Financial Arena. The Knights charge struggled to leave the stable as they fell to BYU 71-50

Knights Struggle With Cougar Claws Early

BYU came out of the gate playing a full court press. With a roster that has size from top to bottom, the Cougars were able to easily cut off passing lanes as well while wreaking havoc in the paint. This hamstrung UCF early as the visitor racked up seven points off turnovers in the first quarter alone. Jaccoriah Bracey had five points in those 10 minutes to keep the Knights competitive after being down by as many as nine.

Bracey finished the game with nine points.

UCF was down only 17-12 entering the second quarter. The Knights closed the gap to a single point in that time with Leah Harmon getting hot. Harmon’s six points in that period were an uplift while the Cougars played a smaller lineup. But when the BYU starters returned to the floor fresh, the Knights’ struggles reappeared along with them.

BYU finished the half making four straight shots to take a 33-24 lead with Sydney Benally and Delany Gidd doing damage throughout the contest. Belany has 11 points in the contest while Gibb had 12.

Harmon was the game’s top scorer, pouring in 16 points.

Second Half Struggles

From that point on, the wheels seemed to fall off for the Knights. BYU outscored UCF 22-6 in the third quarter. While UCF forced the Cougars to turn the ball over 18 times, they gave the ball away 20.

Moreover, BYU’s size further impacted the contest as they finished with 48 rebounds (20 on offense) compared to UCF’s 32. This helped the Cougar offense accrue 40 points in the paint.

First Big 12 Road Game Next

The Knights travel to Texas Tech for their first conference game away to take on the Red Raiders on New Year’s Eve. Head coach Sytis Messer shared in the postgame interview what she feels they need to work on over the holiday break.

“My players executed what we wanted for 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the game is 40. So we have to continue to get better in closing out and finishing games.”