(Photo by Victor Tan / New Day Review)
ORLANDO, Fla. – A high-spirited UCF Knights team entered the 2017-18 season with unprecedented successes from the season before. That positive momentum took a knock in the season-opener, as UCF lost to Mercer University 73-64.
Since then, the Knights have elevated themselves to .500 status, winning two of their three recent road games. The Knights, first, narrowly beat the Chattanooga Mocs 58-57 on Nov. 13. Four days later, UCF followed its first win of the season with a dominant, 65-30 win over Gardner-Webb University. The Knights fell to the Virginia Tech Hokies 86-69 on Nov. 19 to cap the road trip.
Away from home, senior Aliyah Gregory found her rhythm after an unflattering four-point, three-rebound performance in the opener. Over the three-game road stretch, Gregory averaged 18.0 points per game on 47.9 percent shooting, 3.3 rebounds per game and 2.0 steals per game on 32.3 minutes per game.
Former starting point guard Zakiya Saunders, on the other hand, has seen her role diminish over the past two games; in fact, she didn’t even play against Gardner-Webb and Virginia Tech. After starting in the loss to Mercer, Saunders came off the bench in the win over Chattanooga. In those two games, Saunders shot 33.3 percent from the field, making zero of her seven three-pointers, and recorded eight turnovers, seven against Mercer.
In her stead, newcomer Lawriell Wilson has embraced a bigger role. The junior transfer from Tallahassee Community College played just nine minutes against Mercer but contributed two points, three rebounds (one offensive), two assists and a steal. Against Chattanooga, her minutes elevated to 13. Her most demanding game was a 29-minute outing against Gardner-Webb, wherein she scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and recorded three assists.
Wilson averaged 17.7 minutes per game, 4.7 points per game, 2.7 rebounds per game, 1.7 assists per game and 0.3 turnovers per game over the three-game road stretch.
Sophomore Korneila Wright has assumed the starting point-guard job in Saunders’ absence. Wright is no stranger to the starting role, as she started for second-year head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson 18 times last season. Wright has entered into her new role successfully, so far, averaging 12.0 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game, 4.0 assists per game and 32.3 minutes per game. In the loss to the Hokies, Wright scored a career-high 18 points.
The Knights return to action on Wednesday for a home game against the Elon Phoenix at 2 p.m.
- UCF Athletics has not yet responded to New Day Review’s request for an update on Saunders.
For more on the Knights, as they return home to face Elon, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
