UNCASVILLE, Conn. – No. 2 seed UCF forced 27 turnovers in a 65-32 win over No. 7 seed Wichita State in the quarterfinals of the 2020 American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Knights punched their ticket for a tournament semifinal matchup against either No. 3 Cincinnati or No. 11 Memphis on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU.
 
Kay Kay Wright led a balanced UCF lineup with 14 points, while Brittney Smith and Sianni Martin both accounted for nine points each. Masseny Kaba chipped in eight points, nine rebounds and three steals in victory for the Knights. Trajata Colbert was the leading Wichita State scorer with 10 points to go along with six rebounds, and Carla Bremaud contributed eight points of her own to the Shockers cause.
 
Both teams jockeyed for position in the game’s first five minutes and UCF holding a slim 6-5 lead. Smith drove to the rim for the finish off a pick and roll to give the Knights an 8-5 advantage at the first media timeout. UCF missed a pair of good looks at the buzzer at the end of the first quarter but held an 11-9 lead after one. The Knights hit their stride midway through the second quarter by embarking on a 13-0 run over six minutes of game action to extend their lead to 28-11 following a Georgia Gayle 3-pointer. Bremaud nailed a late 3-pointer for Wichita State to narrow the halftime deficit to 28-14.
                                                                   
The UCF lead went over 20 points midway through the third quarter thanks to a Kaba offensive rebound and putback (39-18). Wichita State broke through following a five-minute streak without a field goal on a Colbert putback late in the third period, but Wright answered with a UCF 3-pointer (46-24). The Knights hit five of their final six shot attempts in the quarter to carry a 49-27 lead into the final stanza. The UCF lead reached 30 points when Jnaya Walker converted the hoop and the harm at 5:52 (60-29) of the fourth quarter.   

Fans can watch the entire tournament on ESPN platforms, including ESPN3, ESPNU and ESPN2.
 
For full coverage of this week’s American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship, visit theamerican.org/wbb and follow @American_WBB on Twitter.