Photo Courtesy of UCF AA

Knights protect home court again in dominant fashion

UCF women’s basketball declawed the South Alabama Jaguars 85-59 on Monday night at Addition Financial Arena, improving to 2-0 for home games this season.

Head coach Gabe Lazo said he admired UCF’s dominant performance to start its three-game homestand.

“It’s a big week; it’s a grind,” Lazo said. “We were short a couple bodies that are in the rotation, so we found a couple ways to rotate players and give everybody a chance.”

A 3-point jumper from junior forward Mahogany Chandler-Roberts at 7-4 to regain the lead for the Knights (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) kickstarted the blowout. Chandler-Roberts set a career high while leading all players in scoring, recording 21 points and four blocks. 

South Alabama (1-2, 0-0 SBC) could not rally against UCF’s offense for the rest of the matchup, as the Knights followed with a 9-0 scoring run, courtesy of senior and sophomore guards Vittoria Blasigh and Nyla McFadden.

UCF ended the first quarter 21-13, setting the tone with 14 points in the paint and nine bench points while shooting 53% from the field, compared to the Jaguars’ four paint and three bench points and 21 field goal percentage.

South Alabama showed some fight at the top of the second quarter with a 5-0 scoring run. Sophomore guard Kya Hurt stopped the Jaguars’ momentum, draining back-to-back free throws and a 3-point jumper to keep the lead distant at 31-18.

South Alabama limited UCF’s scoring to 16 points while recording 12 in the second quarter, though still trailing the Knights 37-25.

The Jaguars opened the second half to cut the deficit to four (37-29). McFadden responded with a second-chance free throw on the fast break, which led to another 9-0 Knights scoring run.

Fouls from South Alabama slowed their rhythm as they finished the second half with 18 to UCF’s nine. 

McFadden delivered the final play with a layup and a free throw to end the matchup with another Knights blowout at home, 85-59.

UCF outshot South Alabama at 47% compared to the Jaguars’ 31% from the field and outrebounded the southern squad 45-41. 

Redshirt junior center Candace Kpetikou finished second for the Knights in scoring with 14 points while shooting 6-for-7 from the field. McFadden led UCF defensively with 11 rebounds and one turnover.

“Really proud of Nyla McFadden today,” Lazo said. “She was our leading rebounder, and that’s huge for us. We need her to do that.”

The Knights will continue their three-game homestand, facing Austin Peay (2-0, 0-0 UAC) midweek at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Addition Financial Arena.