Champ Central
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – No. 2 seed UCF outscored No. 3 seed Cincinnati 32-24 in the second half, as the Knights earned their first trip to the American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball title game with a 66-58 win over the Bearcats Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena. UCF will take on top-seeded UConn Monday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Rebecca Lobo and Adam Amin will have the call. UCF enters Sunday’s championship game with 26 victories on the season, setting the program’s record.
Cincinnati entered the championship with the second-best field goal percentage (43 percent) and third-best scoring offense in the conference (67.3 PPG), as UCF, which owns one of The American’s top defenses, held the Bearcats to 58 points on 39 percent shooting. It marked the third time the Bearcats and Knights met in The American tournament. UCF defeated Cincinnati 56-55 in the teams’ only regular-season meeting.
Nine UCF players recorded at least one field goal, as the Knights received 27 points from their bench and scored 34 in the paint. Kay Kay Wright led UCF with 21 points, while Masseny Kaba joined her in double digits with 13 points (6-for-8) off the bench. The Knights shot 50 percent from the field.
IImar'I Thomas (16 points, 8 rebounds), Sam Rodgers (13 points) and Antoinette Miller (12 points) combined for 41 points to lead the Bearcats. Cincinnati shot 40 percent from behind the arc (8-for-20).
UCF and Cincinnati both shot 50 percent from the field in the opening quarter, as Thomas scored a pair of free throws to give the Knights an early 19-17 edge. Trailing by two to start the second quarter, Nikira Goings hit her second trey of the night to give the Bearcats their second lead of the day (20-19). After a Florence Sifa block, Miller scored a jumper in transition to extend Cincinnati’s lead (22-19). UCF then used a 6-0 spurt, capped by a Lawriell Wilson fastbreak jumper to briefly pull ahead 32-30 before Goings answered with her third triple to put the Bearcats back in front with 1:35 left in the half. After UCF’s Tolulope Omokore scored a bucket in the paint, Rodgers drew a shooting foul with nine seconds left and hit a free throw to tie the game at 34-34 at halftime.
Cincinnati ended the first half shooting 55 percent (6-11) from behind the arc. Wright led the Knights with 12 points to bolster a 50 percent field goal percentage for her team in the opening half.
After Cincinnati’s Angel Rizor opened the second-half scoring with a layup, UCF used a 6-0 run, including two field goals from Kaba, to move ahead by four (40-36) with 6:41 left to play in the third. Miller hit a jumper to end a two-minute scoring drought for the Bearcats and trim the deficit to one point (44-43). Wright then scored a buzzer-beater jumper to extend UCF’s lead to three (46-43) to enter the fourth quarter. The Bearcats were held to nine points in the third quarter.
The Knights brought the energy into the final frame, moving out to their largest lead of the night so far (55-47) following an 8-2 run, which included three pointers from Sydnee McDonald and Wright. Miller put Cincinnati within five after draining a shot from downtown, but UCF answered with 1:16 left on the clock after McDonald hit her second trey of the night. UCF led by as many as 10 points after shooting 58 percent in the fourth quarter (7-12).
Cincinnati ends its historic campaign, posting its first 20-win season in 16 years. The Bearcats won 12 of its last 15 games.
Fans can watch the entire tournament on ESPN platforms, including ESPN3, ESPNU and ESPN2.
For more information on and continuing coverage of the American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Championship, please visit Championship Central at www.theamerican.org/wbb.