Top 25 Games of the Year: #21 - Kay Kay Wright Steals Game From Cincinnati

On January 13th, the UCF Knights Women’s Basketball team hosted Cincinnati in a game that was nationally televised on ESPNU. The Knights would be chasing Cincinnati for most of the game as the Bearcats led by as many as ten at one point in the first half and led by five going into the 4th quarter.

The Knights looked like they would be tagged with their first conference loss of the season as they trailed 55-52 with 1:06 left. But Kay Kay Wright would not let her team lose.

After a key defensive stop, Wright hit a pair of free throws to pull UCF within one, at 55-54, with 44 seconds left. The Knights got the ball back and with less than ten seconds left, Wright drove by her defender and layed the ball in with five ticks left on the clock.

On the ensuing possession, Wright then snatched the ball away from the Bearcats to secure a 56-55 victory.

Head Coach Coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson was more than happy to celebrate the win with her team afterwards.

UCF would improve to 14-2 on the season at the time and 3-0 in the American with this thrilling victory versus Cincinnati, who would finish 3rd in the conference.

UCF would see Cincinnati again on March 20th at The American Semifinals, where the Knights would once again knock off the Bearcats 66-58, earning the Knights’ first-ever trip to the American Basketball Championship.

UCF would end up losing the championship game to UConn but make it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history as an at-large and first time since 2011 overall.

UCF would end the season with 60-45 loss to Arizona State in first round of the NCAA Tournament and finish with program record 26 wins, finishing 26-7 on the season.