ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Florida A&M women's basketball team got a 31-point performance from the bench, but fell 85-56 to the UCF Knights on the road Tuesday.
Kamryn Grant led the Rattlers (0-1) with 18 points. Tahnyjia Purifoy tacked on five points and eight assists and Persais Williams chipped in as well with six points.
Led by Grant's three offensive rebounds, Florida A&M did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 11 boards that resulted in nine second chance points.
The Florida A&M defense was effective at taking away the basketball in Tuesday's game, forcing 21 UCF turnovers while committing 20. Those takeaways turned into eight points on the other end of the floor. Dijona Berrien led the way individually for the Rattlers with two steals.
How It Happened
Florida A&M struggled out of the gate, falling behind 23-11 at the end of the first quarter.
The Rattlers continued to lose ground in the second quarter and faced a 39-19 halftime deficit.
UCF continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 63-28 advantage before Florida A&M went on a 5-0 run, punctuated by a three from Kristen Johnson, to trim its deficit to 63-33 with 13 seconds to go in the third, a score which remained until the end of the third quarter. Florida A&M knocked down two three-pointers in the quarter to score six of its 14 total points.
UCF kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 76-39 advantage before Florida A&M went on a 6-0 run to shrink the deficit to 76-45 with 4:05 to go in the contest. The Rattlers kept their comeback going, but UCF managed to hold on for the 85-56 win. Florida A&M took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 12 of its 23 points in the paint.
Game Notes
» The Florida A&M bench came alive by scoring 31 points to its scoring output.
» The Florida A&M defense forced 21 turnovers.
» Florida A&M cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 11 offensive boards in the game.
» Kamryn Grant led the Rattlers with 18 points.
» Florida A&M got a team-high five rebounds from Kamryn Grant.
