2021–22 UCF Knights women's basketball team

The 2021–22 UCF Knights women's basketball team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Knights compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the American Athletic Conference (The American). The Knights, in the program's 45th season of basketball, were led by sixth-year head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, and play their home games at the Addition Financial Arena on the university's main campus in Orlando, Florida. The Knights finished their regular season 22–3 and were American Athletic Conference champions at 14–1, winning the conference tournament and an automatic bid to the 2022 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, where they defeated Florida in the first round before losing to UConn in the second round.

2021–22 UCF Knights women's basketball
Cancún Challenge Riviera Division champions AAC regular season & tournament champions
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 24
AP	No. 24
Record	26–3 (14–1 The American)
Head coach	Katie Abrahamson-Henderson (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Tahnee Balerio Nykesha Sales Isoken Uzamere
Home arena	Addition Financial Arena
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 American Athletic Conference women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 24 UCF †	14	–	1		.933			26	–	4		.867
South Florida	12	–	3		.800			24	–	9		.727
Tulane	11	–	5		.688			21	–	10		.677
Temple	8	–	8		.500			13	–	15		.464
SMU	7	–	7		.500			14	–	15		.483
Houston	7	–	9		.438			18	–	16		.529
Memphis	6	–	9		.400			16	–	12		.571
Tulsa	5	–	8		.385			17	–	11		.607
Wichita State	5	–	11		.313			14	–	16		.467
East Carolina	4	–	11		.267			11	–	18		.379
Cincinnati	4	–	11		.267			11	–	17		.393
† 2022 AAC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Roster

2021–22 UCF Knights women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Laila Jewett 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Bishop Ireton Woodbridge, VA G 1 Tay Sanders 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Bartow Chipola Bartow, FL G 3 Diamond Battles 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Winter Haven Winter Haven, FL G 4 Kiera Brown 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) RS Jr Palm Beach Gardens Rivera Beach, FL F 5 Masseny Kaba 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Cathedral Dorchester, MA G 11 Becca Ripley 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS Sr New Hampton Stratham, NH G 14 Asia Todd 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Clayton Liberty Clayton, NC G 23 Alisha Lewis 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Jr Strath Haven Syracuse Wallingford, PA F 24 Jnaya Walker 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Bolingbrook HS Trinity Valley Bolingbrook, IL G 25 Ahna Burney 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr DME Sports Academy Vancouver, WA F 30 Neila Luma 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS Sr Bethlehem Catholic George Washington Macungie, PA G 31 Shania Meertens 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) RS Sr Winter Springs Clemson Winter Springs, FA F 32 Britney Smith 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Boone Orlando, FL F 33 Destiny Thomas 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr Forest Park Atlanta, GA F 42 Ashton Verhulst 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Bishop Miege Desoto, KS G Savannah Henderson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Timber Creek Orlando, FL	Head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson (Iowa) Assistant coach(es) Tahnee Balerio (Missouri State) Nykesha Sales (Connecticut) Isoken Uzamere (Hofstra) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: March 13, 2022

Schedule and results

^[1]

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Duquesne	W 68–39	1–0	Addition Financial Arena (2,558) Orlando, FL
November 12, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		No. 15 Tennessee	L 41–49	1–1	Addition Financial Arena (2,819) Orlando, FL
November 17, 2021* 7:00 pm, ACCNX		at Virginia	W 59–38	2–1	John Paul Jones Arena (1,432) Charlottesville, VA
November 21, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Belmont	W 57–45	3–1	Addition Financial Arena (2,385) Orlando, FL
November 26, 2021* 6:30 pm, FloHoops		vs. Idaho State Cancún Challenge Riviera Division	W 58–41	4–1	Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (103) Cancún, Mexico
November 27, 2021* 4:00 pm, FloHoops		vs. USC Cancún Challenge Riviera Division	W 56–47	5–1	Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (114) Cancún, Mexico
December 2, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Arkansas	W 52–51	6–1	Addition Financial Arena (2,777) Orlando, FL
December 12, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Mercer	W 61–47	7–1	Hawkins Arena (972) Macon, GA
December 14, 2021* 6:00 pm, FloHoops		at Seton Hall	W 68–56	8–1	Walsh Gymnasium (613) South Orange, NJ
December 18, 2021* 7:30 pm, BTN+		at Iowa	L 61–69	8–2	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (6,236) Iowa City, IA
December 29, 2021* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Princeton	Postponed		Jadwin Gymnasium  Princeton, NJ
AAC regular season
January 5, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Tulane	W 64–55	9–2 (1–0)	Devlin Fieldhouse (542) New Orleans, LA
January 8, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at East Carolina	W 52–43	10–2 (2–0)	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (534) Greenville, NC
January 11, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Houston	W 62–59	11–2 (3–0)	Addition Financial Arena (2,411) Orlando, FL
January 16, 2022 3:00 pm, ESPNU		No. 24 South Florida War on I-4	W 61–57	12–2 (4–0)	Addition Financial Arena (2,763) Orlando, FL
January 19, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at SMU	Canceled		Moody Coliseum  Dallas, TX
January 22, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Cincinnati	L 57–61	12–3 (4–1)	Fifth Third Arena (626) Cincinnati, OH
January 26, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Tulane	W 69–67	13–3 (5–1)	Addition Financial Arena (2,371) Orlando, FL
January 29, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Wichita State	W 68–50	14–3 (6–1)	Charles Koch Arena (1,283) Wichita, KS
January 31, 2022 3:00 pm, ESPN+		Temple Rescheduled from January 2	W 64–55	15–3 (7–1)	Addition Financial Arena (2,177) Orlando, FL
February 5, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Memphis	W 71–57	16–3 (8–1)	Addition Financial Arena (2,712) Orlando, FL
February 9, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at Houston	W 54–44	17–3 (9–1)	Fertitta Center (344) Houston, TX
February 13, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN2		at South Florida War on I-4	W 54–33	18–3 (10–1)	Yuengling Center (2,086) Tampa, FL
February 16, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Wichita State	W 60–35	19–3 (11–1)	Addition Financial Arena (2,289) Orlando, FL
February 19, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Temple	W 68–31	20–3 (12–1)	McGonigle Hall (1,173) Philadelphia, PA
February 26, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Cincinnati	W 74–39	21–3 (13–1)	Addition Financial Arena (2,806) Orlando, FL
March 2, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Tulsa	W 61–48	22–3 (14–1)	Addition Financial Arena (2,435) Orlando, FL
AAC Women's Tournament
March 8, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+	(1) No. 25	vs. (8) Tulsa Quarterfinals	W 69–54	23–3	Dickies Arena  Fort Worth, TX
March 9, 2022 3:00 pm, ESPN+	(1) No. 25	vs. (6) SMU Semifinals	W 61–28	24–3	Dickies Arena  Fort Worth, TX
March 10, 2022 9:00 pm, ESPNU	(1) No. 25	vs. (2) South Florida Championship	W 53–45	25–3	Dickies Arena  Fort Worth, TX
NCAA Women's Tournament
March 19, 2022* 3:30 pm, ESPNews	(7 B) No. 24	vs. (10 B) Florida First Round	W 69–52	26–3	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (5,073) Storrs, CT
March 21, 2022* 9:00 pm, ESPN	(7 B) No. 24	at (2 B) No. 5 UConn Second Round	L 47–52	26–4	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. B=Bridgeport. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Regular Season Polls

Poll	Pre- Season	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10	Week 11	Week 12	Week 13	Week 14	Week 15	Week 16	Week 17	Week 18	Final
AP											RV				RV	RV	RV	25	24
Coaches	RV	-	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	23	24	24

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
(RV)		Received Votes

See also

• 2021–22 UCF Knights men's basketball team