Photo Courtesy of UCF AA

Knights offense spearheads Rattlers

UCF women’s basketball set the bar high in its 2026-27 season opener, dominating Florida A&M 85-56 on Tuesday night at Addition Financial Arena. 

Marking his head-coaching debut with a win, head coach Gabe Lazo said the moment felt unlike any other.

“This has been a moment I’ve always dreamed of and [I] just kept replaying it and replaying it in my mind,” Lazo said at the postgame conference. “I’m just so grateful to be here, grateful for the moment and grateful for all the coaches that I have worked under who have given me an opportunity to learn and grow.”

Five Knights recorded double digits in the slaughter for the first time since 2024, including junior guard Key Roseby, who led the way with 22 points on 8-for-15 shooting.

Roseby said her scoring and career-high of six 3-pointers came from the Knights and their work in transition.

“I would say my teammates were just finding me; I love my teammates,” Roseby said. “They always find the shooter. If we have a hot hand on the team, we find them.”

Sophomore guard Caitlyn Jones and redshirt senior guard trailed notching 13 points, while redshirt junior Candace Kpetikou followed with 12 points and junior forward Mahogany Chandler-Roberts netted 11.

FAMU (0-1, 0-0 ASUN) set the tone with a layup from junior guard Persais Williams off an opponent turnover at the top of the matchup. Redshirt junior center Candace Kpetikou responded with a layup of her own in the paint to tie 2-2.

A tight contest lasted only about nine minutes before junior guard Key Roseby drained a three-point jumper on the fast break to build a distant 9-3 lead.

The Rattlers could not rally for the rest of the game, as UCF held its largest lead of 37 points at 76-39 with under six minutes in the fourth quarter.

FAMU junior guard/forward Lisa Sims scored the final basket of the night with 48 seconds left before handing UCF its ninth straight home opening victory, dating back to a 61-58 win at Pittsburgh on Nov. 7, 2018.

The Knights commanded both sides of the court, netting a field goal percentage of 49% and collecting 50 rebounds, compared to the Rattlers’ 49% from the field and 32 rebounds.

Despite a strong start to the season, Lazo said he’s concentrating on improvement over victories.

“Wins and losses right now, to be quite honest, I’m not really focused on outcomes,” Lazo said. “I’m focused on us getting better and growing. We’re trying to build this program from the bottom up.”

UCF hits the road to face its first Power Four conference opponent, Florida (1-0, 0-0 SEC), at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville.