Photos by Dominic Ceraldi
No. 1 UCF opened postseason play with a 69-54 win over No. 8 Tulsa in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Championship Tuesday, March 8 at Dickies Arena.
With the win, the Knights (23-3) advance to play the winner of No. 5 SMU and No. 4 Temple in the semifinals on Wednesday, March 9 at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
Tulsa (17-9) opened the second half with eight straight points and took its only lead of the game at 32-30, but UCF closed the third quarter on an 11-2 run to lead 55-42. The Knights then extended the lead to as many as 17 in the fourth quarter.
Masseny Kaba led all scorers with 23 for the Knights, while teammate Brittney Smith added 19 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Wyvette Mayberry led Tulsa with 13 points.
In the first quarter, Tulsa missed its first four shots, but Temira Poindexter hit three 3-pointers to tie the game at 9-9. UCF used a 9-3 run to start the second quarter and went into halftime with a 30-24 advantage.
It was the second time the two teams have faced off in the Championship, with UCF winning, 66-54, in the 2019 quarterfinals.
Courtesy 2022 American Athletic Conference
