ORLANDO, Florida – Wichita State suffered its fourth straight loss, this one in heartbreaking fashion, 59-56, at UCF Sunday afternoon in Addition Financial Arena.
Wichita State (11-7, 1-4) remains winless all-time vs. UCF, dropping to 0-7 against the Knights.
Jane Asinde scored all 13 of her points in the second half to go with eight rebounds. Trajata Colbert also went 6-for-8 from the floor to also finish with 13 points. Ambah Kowcun made her first career start and went for 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. The rest of the team was 0-for-7 from three-point range.
DJ McCarty chipped in 10 points to go with a career-high six steals.
The two teams were about as even statistically as you could get. Both combined for 46 turnovers, 23 for each team, they were 22-for-54 (WSU) and 21-for-54 (UCF) from the field and both teams made only three three-pointers. UCF edged Wichita State on the glass by two.
UCF's Destiny Thomas was a force, going for 24 points and 13 rebounds.
UCF led by as many as six in the opening quarter and would take a 17-13 lead into the second. Both teams were 6-of-14 from the field with five turnovers each, but the Knights were able to turn Wichita State's miscues into seven points on the other end.
Wichita State opened the second scoring the first six points to take a 19-17 lead. After the Knights regained the lead by one with 4:16 remaining, Ambah Kowcun knocked down her second triple of the half to make it 23-21. Shamaryah Duncan then converted a three-point play to give the Shockers a four-point margin at the 2:48 mark.
That would prove to be the final points of the half for Wichita State, as they went the final 2:48 without a point, and UCF capitalized with a 6-0 run to close the half. UCF would lead 28-26 at halftime.
Only four players scored in the first half for Wichita State, led by McCarty with eight. Duncan added seven off the bench, followed by Kowcun with six and Colbert's five.
Both teams matched each other from the field, going 10-for-27, but the Knights were 0-for-6 from three-point range compared to Wichita State's 2-for-7. UCF also got to the free throw line 15 times, but made only eight.
After playing only a few seconds in the first half due to foul trouble, Jane Asinde came out on a mission. She scored the first four points of the half, which helped spearhead a 12-5 run to give the Shockers a 38-33 lead barely three minutes in.
With the score at 40-35, UCF responded with back-to-back treys to retake the lead by one.
Both teams traded baskets on the next three possessions and then the teams went scoreless for nearly two minutes. The Knights grabbed a 47-44 lead with 14 seconds left in the period, but Kowcun cashed in her third triple of the game as the horn sounded to tie the game at 47 with play moving to the final quarter.
The third quarter featured an offensive affair, but it was a defensive battle in the final 10 minutes with both teams giving it all for a win. The entire period was played within a two-point window until the final seconds when UCF hit two free throws for the final margin of three.
A Colbert 5-footer in the lane tied the game at 54 with 3:40 to play, and then Asinde gave the Shockers a 56-55 lead after UCF split a pair of free throws with 1:37 left.
Thomas put the Knights back in front by a point, 57-56, with two free throws and 1:22 on the clock. After a Wichita State timeout with 41.1 seconds to go, McCarty had a wide open potential go-ahead layup fall off the rim and only 16 seconds remaining.
Wichita State still had a chance after UCF turned it over on the inbounds, but the Shockers turned it right back over. UCF knocked down two at the line to make it 59-56 and Wichita State had 6 seconds to go the length of the court. McCarty weaved in and out of traffic to get off a three-point attempt, but it bounced off the backboard as time expired.
Up Next
Wichita State returns home on Wednesday to face SMU at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.