Masseny Kaba Scores 18 in Road Win over UC Davis

The UCF Knights started their third and longest winning streak of the season, holding off the UC Davis Aggies in a narrow, seven-point win.

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University of Central Florida forward Masseny Kaba shoots the ball during a 53-43 win over Northern Iowa Panthers at CFE Arena on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017. (Photo by Victor Tan / New Day Review)
(Photo by Victor Tan / New Day Review)

Game Recap

UCF Knights freshman Masseny Kaba hasn’t made a name for herself as a scorer, yet, but she took a step in that direction in a 62-55 road win over the UC Davis Aggies on Dec. 17.

The forward scored a game-high 18 points and tallied 6 rebounds in a career-high 35 minutes. Point guard Korneila Wright added 16 points and 3 assists, as Zakiya Saunders and Aliyah Gregory combined for just 19 points on 7-for-27 shooting.

Kaba got her career performance started early, scoring 10 of the Knights’ 18 first-quarter points off a variety of jumpers and inside-the-paint efforts. That spearheaded a seemingly overwhelming 39-18 halftime lead and positioned the Knights for their fourth blowout win of the year. A resurgent Aggies team made it a game, though, scoring 18 in the third and holding UCF to just seven.

The Knights scored four of their seven points within the first minute and a half of the third but allowed the Aggies to go on an 18-3 run to close the quarter. UC Davis’ third-quarter push was led by Morgan Bertsch, Nina Bessolo and Dani Nafekh, as they scored 14, 11 and 7, respectively.

UCF kept its lead and victory safe with a 16-point fourth quarter led by Wright’s seven points and one assist.

Player of the Game: F Masseny Kaba

Kaba finished the game an efficient 9-for-11 from the field to tally her career-high 18 points. Four of her six rebounds were offensive boards. She also finished with a steal and a first quarter-ending block. Kaba has started the past six games.

What’s next?

The Knights stay in California for the week and will play the Pacific Tigers on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

NDR Notes

  • Kaba finished with career-highs in points (18), minutes (35), field-goal attempts (11) and field-goal makes (9).
  • Saunders and UCF leading scorer Gregory combined for just 19 points on 7-for-27 shooting.
  • Kaba has started the last six games.
  • The Knights have started their third winning streak of the season and are, so far, on their longest (three games). Previous win streaks never went further than two games.

Scoring

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
UC Davis Aggies 10 8 18 19 55
UCF Knights 18 21 7 16 62

Statistics and Starting Lineups

Team Leaders

UC Davis Aggies UCF Knights
Points Morgan Bertsch (14) Masseny Kaba (18)
Rebounds Pele Gianotti, Cierra Hall (9) Nyala Shuler (14)
Assists Dani Nafekh (3) Zakiya Saunders (6)
Blocks Morgan Bertsch (3) Masseny Kaba (1)
Steals Nina Bessolo (3) Korneila Wright (4)
Turnovers Morgan Bertsch, Dani Nafekh, Kourtney Eaton (3) Korneila Wright (3)
Minutes Morgan Bertsch, Dani Nafekh (31) Zakiya Saunders (39)

UC Davis Aggies starting lineup: Morgan Bertsch, Dani Nafekh, Rachel Nagel, Pele Gianotti, Kourtney Eaton

UCF Knights starting lineup: Korneila Wright (G), Zakiya Saunders (G), Aliyah Gregory (G), Nyala Shuler (F), Masseny Kaba (F)


For more on the Knights, as they look to conclude their road trip with a win over Pacific, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.