UCF women’s basketball gets to 3-0 by topping Auburn

Led by Laila Jewett ‘s 19 points, the UCF women’s basketball team (3-0) prevailed 60-53 at home on Monday night for its first victory against Auburn (3-2).

Jewett went 7-of-11 from the field while Kaitlin Peterson recorded her third consecutive double-digit game with 16 points. Jayla Kelly and Peterson tallied seven rebounds apiece.

“That’s a team that beat us by 40 points last year and now we flipped it around. It’s different,” UCF coach Sytia Messer said. “I’d like to give my players the credit for the opportunity to come here. It’s a different team and these young ladies know me, which is the main difference from last year. Our players work hard and we are going to continue to challenge them to get ready for the Big 12.”

UCF led 27-26 at halftime before Auburn tied the game 45-45 in the fourth quarter. After Kelly made a layup off an Auburn turnover with 5:26 left, the Knights never trailed. Peterson pushed the ball in transition following a defensive rebound, leading to an and-one layup to give the Knights a five-point advantage with 1:35 left.

The Knights return to action in the Discover Puerto Rico Classic with three games running from Thursday through Saturday.