The UCF women’s basketball team made history Tuesday night.
Aliyah Gregory scored a career-high 34 points, helping the Knights (16-9, 6-6 American Athletic Conference) earn a 66-62 win over No. 22 USF (20-5, 9-3) at the Sun Dome in Tampa.
It was UCF’s first win over a ranked opponent since moving up to the Division I level.
The Knights’ last win over a nationally ranked opponent was during lower division competition, with UCF knocking off Flagler College on Dec. 10, 1980.
First-year UCF coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said it was a special win for veterans Zykira Lewis and Joslyn Massey, who are playing their final seasons with the Knights and had coped with losing seasons during their careers.
"[The program] hasn’t won since 1980. USF is a great team [with] a great coach team and great players. I’m just so proud of our team that they came in with a lot of good energy and came out defensively and really stuck by our game plan in what we want to do," Abrahamson-Henderson said.
"It was really awesome to see them come out in those first two quarters really confident and aggressive and I just said it. ‘Are you scared?’ And they said ‘No!’ I was like good, because we shouldn’t be let’s go out there and get this victory. So they really stepped up today.”
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, guard B.J. Taylor and center Tacko Fall preview the Knights’ matchup with Tulsa Tuesday.
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, guard B.J. Taylor and center Tacko Fall preview the Knights’ matchup with Tulsa Tuesday.
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, guard B.J. Taylor and center Tacko Fall preview the Knights’ matchup with Tulsa Tuesday.
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins, guard B.J. Taylor and center Tacko Fall preview the Knights’ matchup with Tulsa Tuesday.
UCF’s 2017 football schedule was released by the American Athletic Conference Thursday morning.
UCF’s 2017 football schedule was released by the American Athletic Conference Thursday morning.
UCF head coach Scott Frost talks about how they’ve learned to save scholarship spots after National Signing Day to attract more and better recruits.
UCF head coach Scott Frost talks about how they’ve learned to save scholarship spots after National Signing Day to attract more and better recruits.
For the second straight season under UCF coach Scott Frost, the Knights finished with a top-three signing class in the American Athletic Conference.
For the second straight season under UCF coach Scott Frost, the Knights finished with a top-three signing class in the American Athletic Conference.
FSU came out on top while UCF turned in a solid effort. Florida rallied and USF made a huge comback from the bottom of the ladder.
FSU came out on top while UCF turned in a solid effort. Florida rallied and USF made a huge comback from the bottom of the ladder.
Gregory, a Tampa native, was 15-for-26 from the field and hit a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left to extend UCF’s lead to four points.
“I mean it means a lot for us as a program,” Gregory said of the win. “It shows that we can compete with some of the top teams because of course USF was ranked. I think it means even more, because [Lewis] and [Massey] just haven’t experienced anything like this and now they are in their last year. This is their last go around against USF and I can tell that they really wanted it. I think we really had their backs tonight and helped them get that.”
During the victory, Gregory surpassed 1,000 career points.
“Of course, hitting a major milestone like that feels good and then we get a win on top of that feels great,” she said.
UCF senior Zykira Lewis added 12 points and Nyala Shuler chipped in 10 rebounds.
It was the Knights’ first win over the rival Bulls in 13 tries.
UCF also improved to 6-6 in conference play, its most wins since joining the league.
The Knights scored six points in the War on I-4 all-sports rivalry series, pushing UCF ahead 24-15 on the overall scoreboard.
UCF returns home to host East Carolina at 2 p.m. Saturday at CFE Arena. Gregory expects the Knights to build on the milestone and generate more reasons to celebration.
“Moving forward, it is a confidence builder for sure, but it also shows us what we’re capable of,” she said. “So, we can’t go back to not playing well, not playing aggressive, not playing hard, because we have shown what we are capable of so we have to play to a higher standard every night.”
ilimon@orlandosentinel.com
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