• Final stats

ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF Knights are on a winning tear, coming out of their last five games as victors.

Most recently, UCF blow out the Memphis Tigers 61-41 Saturday afternoon at CFE Arena behind repeat, standout performances by redshirt senior Zakiya Saunders and true freshman Masseny Kaba.

Saunders posted a game-leading 20 points on 9-for-17 shooting, adding 8 rebounds (2 offensive), 6 assists and 5 steals in 32 minutes. As for Kaba, she teased a season-high in points with 17 on an efficient 8-for-12 shooting.

“For me, it all just started in the summer. This summer, I spent a lot of time shooting, working on defense and stuff like that,” Saunders said after UCF’s ninth home win of the season. “So, it’s just coming along in the game. I’m just doing everything our coaches are asking us to. I’m just playing hard and then trying to get wins for our team.”

The Knights out-scored Memphis by just four points in the second quarter but still held a 12-point halftime lead. That 12-point lead quickly evolved into a 20-point difference less than five minutes into the second half, Korneila Wright’s layup gave the Knights a commanding, 44-24 lead.

UCF continued to increase its lead, as Saunders and Kaba scored on back-to-back-to-back possessions. Defense helped the Knights solidify their win, too, as Memphis went 3-for-11 (27.3 percent) and was outscored 21-6 in the third.

Nyala Shuler, who hit a clock-beating 3 to end the third, recalled the third quarter in last season’s 65-59 loss at Memphis. There, the Tigers overcame a 30-23 halftime deficit, outscoring UCF 21-10 en route to the six-point win.

“Well, last year, when we played them, and the third quarter was when they came back on us,” Shuler said after the win. “So we really wanted to take pride in this third quarter and make sure we held them to a single-digit quarter on defense.”

The Knights were opportunistic on defense, turning 20 Memphis turnovers into 23 points. Behind Saunders’ game-leading 8 boards and 7 from Kaba and guard Jamesha Paul, the Knights also dominated in rebounds. UCF out-rebounded Memphis 37-26, including earning 11 more offensive boards for 15 second-chance points.

For the Tigers, they were led by Taylor Barnes and her 16-point outing on 6-for-10 shooting, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range. She played a game-leading 38 minutes.

Who’s Next?

UCF hosts the No. 1 UConn Huskies on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The last time UCF played the Huskies, UConn won 80-44. When UConn visited UCF last season on New Year’s Day, the Huskies won 84-48. UCF lost to UConn 78-56 in the second round of the AAC tournament last season.

For more on the Knights, as they prepare for a rematch with the Huskies, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.