FORT WORTH, Texas – The 10th-seeded UCF women’s basketball team took over in the second half, taking down No. 7 seed Tulsa 69-53 to advance to the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship.
Laila Jewett scored 20 points to lead the Knights, while Destiny Thomas collected her 13th double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Sierra Godbolt contributed a career-high 10 assists and Mya Burns added 19 points.
photos by Calvin Hickerson
Laila Jewett led UCF (14-14) with 20 points, while Mya Burns added 19. Sierra Godbolt directed the offense with 10 assists, tying the Championship record.
Destiny Thomas recorded her 13th double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Tulsa (17-13) led by as many as eight in the second quarter, but the Knights took the lead for good on Kiera Brown free throws just before the halftime break. UCF made nine of 14 field goals in the third quarter (64.3 percent) and pushed the lead to 54-43 at the end of the third.
UCF led by as many as 22 at 65-43 with 5:10 remaining in the game. Temira Poindexter led the Golden Hurricane with 16 points.
With the win, the Knights will face No. 2 seed Memphis in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. ET/6 CT on ESPN+.