FORT WORTH, Texas – No. 1 UCF advanced to the final of the 2022 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship with a 61-28 win over No. 5 SMU Wednesday, March 9 at Dickies Arena.
 
With the win, UCF (24-3) will play in the final against the winner of No. 6 Houston and No. 2 South Florida on Thursday, March 10 at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT on ESPNU. It will be UCF's third appearance in the Championship final.
 
The Knights jumped out to an 11-0 lead and did not allow SMU (14-14) to score for over seven and a half minutes and led, 15-3, after the first period. The Mustangs used an 8-2 run to close the gap to six at 19-13, but that was as close as they would come.
 
UCF shot 42.4 percent from the field (25-59) and held SMU to 24.5 percent (12-49). While the two teams grabbed 34 rebounds each, UCF had 24 points off of turnovers to the Mustangs’ six.
 
The Knights had four players in double-figure scoring, led by Brittney Smith with 13.
 
SMU had won the only other Championship meeting, 83-74, in the 2016 first round.