• Final stats

It had been almost a week since the UCF Knights played their regular-season finale, and the rust showed.

Despite the hiatus, UCF (1-0) managed to avoid an opening-round exit in the American Athletic Conference tournament, beating Temple University (0-1) 77-70 on March 4 in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The Knights are now 3-0 against Temple this season, beating the Owls by a combined, three-game score of 217-173.

UCF succumbed to an early deficit, as the Knights trailed 19-10 after the opening period. The Knights retaliated in the next three quarters, though, posting 20-plus points in each of them while holding the Owls to under 20 points in the second and third quarters.

Freshman Masseny Kaba started the Knights’ counterattack in the second quarter with an inside score that started a 12-0 run. UCF capped its run with a jumper from Kayla Thigpen, as the Knights held onto a one-point advantage entering halftime.

Nearly nine minutes into the third quarter, the Knights opened elevated their lead to double digits off a 2-point jumper from Aliyah Gregory. Temple’s Tanaya Atkinson made a layup with under a minute to go in the third, as the Knights led by nine points after a 3-pointer by Mykia Jones beat the quarter-ending clock.

The Knights closed the game with an early attack in the fourth, going up by 18 less than three minutes into the quarter. This time, Thigpen made a layup off one of redshirt senior Zakiya Saunders’ three assists to give the Knights their largest lead.

Temple didn’t go quietly, though, as Atkinson almost single-handedly kept the Owls afloat. She scored 14 of the Owls’ last 16 points in the final seven minutes, bringing Temple as close as six points before the game was over.

Atkinson started her run by converting back-to-back and-1 plays before Mia Davis added two free throws of her own. Jones’ three free throws brought Temple within five points of UCF, but, with only 10 seconds to play, it was too little too late.

For UCF, Saunders led all scorers with 22 points. She added six rebounds, three assists and four steals, as she shot 8-for-16 in 40 minutes of action. Kaba added 13 points, eight boards and three assists, too.

Atkinson scored a team-high 20 points with a game-high 17 rebounds (nine offensive). She earned 10 of her available 11 free-throw points and finished 5-for-11 from the field with.

Who’s Next?

The Knights take on the USF Bulls Monday at 4:30 p.m. in the Knights’ second round. UCF has lost twice to the Bulls this season, most recently losing in overtime 77-68 on Feb. 18.

For more on the Knights, as they progress against USF, follow Tommy Cardinal on Twitter at @NDR_TomCardinal.