American Conference/ Ben Solomon

Women's Basketball

No. 3 UCF Battles to 77-70 Win Over No. 11 Temple, Advances To Women’s Basketball Semifinals

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – No. 3 seed UCF had 14 steals and 25 points off turnovers in a 77-70 win over No. 11 seed Temple in the Aaron’s American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Quarterfinals at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday. The Knights will return to the Semifinals for a second straight year to face either No. 7 seed ECU or No. 2 seed USF on Monday, March 5 at 4:30 p.m. ET.


 
It was the Knights’ third win of the year over the Owls, as Zakiya Saunders led UCF with 22 points, six rebounds and four steals. Three teammates joined her in reaching double-digit scoring, while the Knights held Temple to shooting 39 percent from the field.
 
The conference’s top scorer, Tanaya Atkinson, registered a double-double of 20 points and 17 rebounds to lead Temple, as her boards total set a conference championship record.
 
Saunders scored the first basket of the day, but the Owls used an 8-0 run to force a Knights’ timeout at the 6:29 mark of the first quarter. Temple shot 63 percent from behind the arc to take a 19-10 lead at the end of one. Mykia Jones went 4-of-4 from downtown to collect 12 points in the opening frame.
 
A 12-0 run for the Knights through the first six minutes of the second quarter gave them a brief one-point lead before freshman Mia Davis hit two free throws to keep Temple in front. A jumper by Masseny Kaba put UCF back on top, as the first half remained a tight battle with the Knights holding a narrow 32-31 advantage into the locker room at the break.
 
The contest remained close at the start of the second half, but the Knights’ defense prevailed. UCF notched six steals through the third frame, notching eight points off turnovers to pull away. UCF used an 11-2 run in the final 2:22 of the third quarter before Jones drained a buzzer-beater trey for the Owls to close the gap to 57-48 before the start of the fourth quarter.
 
The Knights opened the fourth quarter with a nine-point surge to expand out to an 18-point lead (66-48). Temple got within six points, but the Owls would get no closer, as UCF secured its bid to the Semifinals.