This afternoon the Bearcats welcomed in the University of Central Florida for an afternoon battle, where the Bearcats were looking to make it two in a row after a huge win versus Houston on Wednesday night to record their first victory in conference play of the 2021-2022 season. The Bearcats are sitting at 8-9 on the season, (1-4 AAC), while the Knights are 12-2 overall, (4-0 AAC). The Bearcats were looking to get a huge home victory versus a very solid Central Florida team, that is atop of the American Athletic Conference.
The starters for the Bearcats were, Akira Levy, Jillian Hayes, Caitlyn Wilson, Braylyn Milton and Arame Niang.
The Bearcats came out striking as they attacked the 3-2 zone early, after tremendous ball movement, the Bearcats found Akira Levy for a huge three after a Jillian Hayes steal on defense out the Bearcats in position to strike first. The Bearcats were locked in on defense as they held the Knights scoreless for the first 5 minutes of the contest, and you could sense the energy this team was playing with here this afternoon. The Bearcats held an early 8-0 lead, before the Knights made their first field goal at the 3 minute mark. Caitlyn Wilson caught fire from deep, as she knocked down two quick threes to give the Bearcats an 11-2 lead forcing the Knights to take an early timeout. The Knights responded with a 7-0 run to get back in the game, as they cut the Bearcats lead to 4 at the end of the first quarter where the Bearcats led 13-9.
The Knights came out shooting in the second quarter despite a 4-point deficit, they respond with two quick threes from Diamond Battle to tie this game up at 16, as the Knights knew they had to make some adjustments early to cut the Bearcats lead. The Bearcats however, responded with an 11-point run to open this one up once again where they led 27-16. The key to the first half was the Bearcats on defense as they were locked in as they contained a tough UCF team to just 22 points, on 31% from the field. Caitlyn Wilson led the Bearcats with 11 points, where she knocked down three big threes to extend the Bearcats lead, as they held a 27-22 lead at the break.
