Chippewas prevail as UCF's Wright logs career performance
Sophomore guard Micaela Kelly jumps for a layup after breaking past the defense on Nov. 21 in McGuirk Arena.
Without junior guard Korneila Wright, University of Central Florida would have struggled.
But with her, the Knights nearly pulled off an upset against the Central Michigan women's basketball team.
Despite Wright's 31-point outing, the Chippewas (3-1) earned a 75-68 victory over UCF on Nov. 21 at McGuirk Arena. Wright, a former four-star prospect, was 11-for-15 from the field and 3-for-3 from 3-point range with one rebound and three assists in the loss.
Countering Wright's top-notch performance was CMU senior guard Presley Hudson. She controlled the pace of the game, dropping in 21 points, six rebounds and nine assists.
Hudson's most important shots came at the free throw line. The 5-foot-6 guard went made four-straight free throws with under 48 seconds left to help secure the seven-point win.
Down by 10 points with 2:45 left in the first half, the Knights (3-1) marched on an 11-2 run, cutting its deficit to just one point at halftime. Of the 11 points, nine came from the hand of Wright.
CMU freshman center Jahari Smith commanded the paint, and she even managed to score nine of the first 11 points for the Chippewas. Second quarter sloppiness from the CMU guards made it difficult for the freshman to find her groove late in the half.
Smith finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.
"I told her to put on her big girl pants, and that she had to rebound the ball like it was the last game she'd ever play," Guevara said.
Out of the halftime locker room, Guevara's group was still unable to quiet Wright, who was 7-of-7 from the field for 19 points through two quarters of play.
Wright knocked down a mid-range jumper to start the second half to give UCF a 33-32 lead. Senior guard Sydnee McDonald, who Guevara noted as a 3-point threat earlier in the week, found the bottom of the net to take a four-point edge over the Chippewas – capping a 16-2 run.
With just 7:19 remaining in the third quarter, Wright broke her career-high in scoring with 23 points on a jumper to go up 40-37 against CMU.
On back-to-back passes from sophomore guard Maddy Watters, Smith found back-to-back layups. The ensuing possession consisted of Hudson putting the Chippewas ahead 45-44 on an inside bucket halfway through the third quarter.
Wright missed her first shot of the game with 3:33 to play in the third quarter. She made up for the rare miss on a 3-pointer as time expired in the third quarter for 31 points and a one-point edge against the Chippewas.
In the fourth quarter, Guevara put sophomore guard Micaela Kelly in a box-on-one situation against Wright. From that moment on, Wright went scoreless.
"It only took me 30 minutes to figure that out," Guevara said. "We couldn't contain her, so we went to the box-on-one. I thought (Micaela) did a great job on her, but I thought we did a better job on the boards."
Unable to score from beyond the 3-point arc, guard Maddy Watters converted from downtown for the first time with 1:30 remaining to put CMU ahead 67-66.
"She was so quiet for the first three quarters," Guevara said of Watters. "I told Presley, 'You'll get open shots when Maddy Watters starts taking shots.' She took them and had two big threes for us. I'm happy that worked out for her confidence."
Senior forward Reyna Frost capped off the game with two free throws. Frost registered yet another double-double – 24 points and 11 rebounds.
The Chippewas, now with three wins, next play in the Cavalier Classic against Virginia at 2 p.m. on Nov. 24 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
