After earning their first American Athletic Conference win of the season two days ago over Wichita State, UCF Knights Women’s Hoops squad battled the Tulane Green Wave Tuesday Night. The Knights were unable to repel their foes, 64-50 for a fourth conference loss.

Big Nights from Mya Burns and Laila Jewett

With center Destiny Thomas facing foul trouble early, the Knights managed to secure a halftime 33-28 lead in large part with guard Mya Burns stepping up. She turned in stats from all over the sheet with 15 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, and three steals.

Guard Laila Jewett also hit double digits herself by contributing 10 points. She provided the spark early for 17 1st quarter points for the Knights.

Cold 3rd Quarters

After the Knights held the lead going into the locker room, the Green Wave seemed to crash down on UCF. Tulane won the 3rd quarter 20-6 including a nine-point run of scoring. The Knights hit a stretch of shooting where they were 1-of-10 while committing seven of the team’s 12 turnovers on the night.

Head Coach Sytia Messer pointed out that struggling coming out in the second half has been an issue for the season as a whole. Messer offered reassurance that improvement will come as this team finds chemistry that is missing due to the amount of newcomers and injuries on the roster.

Charging On to Fight The Bulls

With a record of 1-4 in the AAC, the Knights are set to face off against their arch rivals in the USF Bulls. Picked as the odds on favorite to win the American, the Bulls at their home arena in the Yuneling Center might be the toughest game remaining on the schedule.

That being said, despite this being Messer’s first year at UCF, she has already locked in on the significance of the “War on I-4” and expects her squad ready to come out fighting.