# 2023–24 UCF Knights women's basketball team

The 2023–24 UCF Knights women's basketball team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Knights, were led by second-year head coach Sytia Messer and played their home games at the Addition Financial Arena as members of the Big 12 Conference.

## Previous season

The Knights finished the 2022–23 season 14–15, 4–11 in AAC play to finish in tenth place. As a 10th seed in the AAC Women's tournament, they defeated Cincinnati in the first round before losing to Memphis in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Kiera Brown | 4 | G | 5'9" | Sophomore | Riviera Beach, FL | |
| Tiani Abrams | 5 | G | 6'1" | Freshman | Vista, CA | Transferred to Northern Colorado |
| Becca Ripley | 11 | G | 6'0" | Senior | Stratham, NH | Graduated |
| Rachel Ranke | 12 | G | 6'1" | GS Senior | Burnsville, MN | Graduated |
| Bryana Hardy | 20 | F | 6'2" | Freshman | Lovejoy, GA | |
| Ashley Foster | 24 | G | 5'8" | Senior | McDonough, GA | Graduated |
| Destiny Thomas | 33 | F | 6'2" | Senior | Atlanta, GA | Graduated |
| Ashton Verhulst | 42 | F | 6'2" | Junior | De Soto, KS | Walk-on; left the team |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Kaitlin Peterson | 3 | G | 5'9" | Junior | Eufaula, AL | Indiana |
| Jayla Kelly | 24 | C | 6'3" | Senior | Chesterfield, MO | Missouri |
| Mary McMillan | 42 | G | 5'6" | Senior | Apopka, FL | UNC Wilmington |

#### Recruiting

There were no recruiting classing class of 2023.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2023* 6:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | Bethune–Cookman | W 101–63 | 1–0 | Addition Financial Arena (3,225) Orlando, FL |
| November 13, 2023* 6:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | Anderson | W 96–73 | 2–0 | Addition Financial Arena (740) Orlando, FL |
| November 20, 2023* 7:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | Auburn | W 60–53 | 3–0 | Addition Financial Arena (1,180) Orlando, FL |
| November 23, 2023* 3:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Jackson State Discover Puerto Rico Classic | W 63–54 | 4–0 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum (250) San Juan, PR |
| November 24, 2023* 3:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. St. John's Discover Puerto Rico Classic | W 61–48 | 5–0 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum (250) San Juan, PR |
| November 25, 2023* 5:30 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Sacred Heart Discover Puerto Rico Classic | W 69–58 | 6–0 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum (250) San Juan, PR |
| December 3, 2023* 3:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | Campbell | W 42–41 | 7–0 | Addition Financial Arena (1,072) Orlando, FL |
| December 11, 2023* 11:00 a.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | New Orleans | W 72–45 | 8–0 | Addition Financial Arena (1,238) Orlando, FL |
| December 18, 2023* 2:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | Florida Atlantic | L 58–59 | 8–1 | Addition Financial Arena (797) Orlando, FL |
| December 19, 2023* 2:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | Morgan State | W 67–41 | 9–1 | Addition Financial Arena (787) Orlando, FL |
| Big 12 Conference regular season ||||||
| December 30, 2023 3:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | at Oklahoma | L 52–69 | 9–2 (0–1) | Lloyd Noble Center (3,835) Norman, OK |
| January 3, 2024 6:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | Oklahoma State | L 61–68 | 9–3 (0–2) | Addition Financial Arena (1,230) Orlando, FL |
| January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | No. 11 Kansas State | L 56–72 | 9–4 (0–3) | Addition Financial Arena (1,154) Orlando, FL |
| January 10, 2024 6:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | at Cincinnati | L 63–64 | 9–5 (0–4) | Fifth Third Arena (587) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 13, 2024 12:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | No. 24 West Virginia | L 59–76 | 9–6 (0–5) | Addition Financial Arena (1,374) Orlando, FL |
| January 20, 2024 3:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | at No. 12 Baylor | L 74–77 | 9–7 (0–6) | Foster Pavilion (5,089) Waco, TX |
| January 23, 2024 7:30 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | at TCU | L 60–66 | 9–8 (0–7) | Schollmaier Arena (2,249) Fort Worth, TX |
| January 27, 2024 2:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | Houston | W 92–87 $^{OT}$ | 10–8 (1–7) | Addition Financial Arena (1,092) Orlando, FL |
| January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | at No. 23 West Virginia | L 43–84 | 10–9 (1–8) | WVU Coliseum (1,608) Morgantown, WV |
| February 3, 2024 12:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | Iowa State | W 71–66 | 11–9 (2–8) | Addition Financial Arena (1,088) Orlando, FL |
| February 7, 2024 6:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | Cincinnati | L 61–67 | 11–10 (2–9) | Addition Financial Arena (1,108) Orlando, FL |
| February 10, 2024 8:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | at Texas Tech | W 69–64 | 12–10 (3–9) | United Supermarkets Arena (4,511) Lubbock, TX |
| February 13, 2024 6:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | BYU | L 60–64 | 12–11 (3–10) | Addition Financial Arena (849) Orlando, FL |
| February 17, 2024 5:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | at No. 7 Kansas State | L 58–60 | 12–12 (3–11) | Bramlage Coliseum (6,316) Manhattan, KS |
| February 21, 2024 6:30 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | at Oklahoma State | L 54–67 | 12–13 (3–12) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (1,819) Stillwater, OK |
| February 24, 2024 12:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | No. 5 Texas | L 56–87 | 12–14 (3–13) | Addition Financial Arena (1,621) Orlando, FL |
| February 28, 2024 6:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | Kansas | L 53–65 | 12–15 (3–14) | Addition Financial Arena (1,071) Orlando, FL |
| March 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., BIG12/ESPN+ | | at Houston | L 67–68 | 12–16 (3–15) | Fertitta Center (1,141) Houston, TX |
| Big 12 Conference Tournament ||||||
| March 7, 2024 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (14) | vs. (11) Cincinnati First Round | L 62–67 | 12–17 | T-Mobile Center (2,824) Kansas City, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||