# 2022–23 UCF Knights women's basketball team

The 2022–23 UCF Knights women's basketball team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2022–23 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 46th season of basketball, are led by first-year head coach Sytia Messer, and play their home games at the Addition Financial Arena on the university's main campus in Orlando, Florida.
This was also the last season UCF play in the American Athletic Conference before moving to the Big 12 Conference.

## Previous season

The Knights finished the 2021–22 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

Due to COVID-19 disruptions throughout NCAA sports in 2020–21, the NCAA announced that the 2020–21 season would not count against the athletic eligibility of any individual involved in an NCAA winter sport, including women's basketball. This meant that all seniors in 2020–21 had the option to return for 2021–22.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Tay Sanders | 1 | G | 6'1" | Senior | Bartow, FL | Graduated |
| Diamond Battles | 3 | G | 5'8" | Senior | Winter Haven, FL | Graduate transferred to Georgia |
| Masseny Kaba | 5 | F | 6'3" | Senior | Dorchester, MA | Graduated/went undrafted in 2022 NBA draft; signed with the Chicago Sky |
| Becca Ripley | 11 | G | 6'0" | Senior | Stratham, NH | Graduated |
| Alisha Lewis | 23 | G | 5'7" | Junior | Wallingford, PA | Transferred to Georgia |
| Jnaya Walker | 24 | F | 6'1" | Senior | Bolingbrook, IL | Graduate transferred to Central Michigan |
| Ahna Burney | 25 | G | 5'8" | Junior | Vancouver, WA | TBD |
| Neila Luma | 30 | F | 6'0" | Senior | Macungie, PA | Graduated |
| Shania Meertens | 31 | G | 5'8" | Senior | Winter Springs, FL | Graduated |
| Brittney Smith | 32 | F | 6'3" | Senior | Orlando, FL | Graduate transferred to Georgia |
| Savannah Henderson | | G | 6'1" | Freshman | Orlando, FL | Transferred to Georgia |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Mya Burns | 10 | G | 6'0" | Senior | North Augusta, GA | Georgia Southern |
| Rachel Ranke | 12 | G | 6'1" | GS Senior | Burnsville, MN | Kansas State |
| Taylor Gibson | 15 | F | 6'2" | Sophomore | Upper Marlboro, MD | Michigan |
| Anzhane' Hutton | 23 | F | 6'0" | Junior | Dallas, TX | Howard |
| Ashley Foster | 24 | G | 5'8" | Senior | McDonough, GA | Georgia State |
| Morgan Robinson-Nwagwu | 30 | G | 5'8" | Senior | Norcross, GA | Gulf Coast State College |

#### Recruiting

There were no recruiting classing class of 2022.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 30, 2022* 2:00 p.m. | | Saint Leo | W 71–43 | | – | – | – | Addition Financial Arena Orlando, FL |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Winthrop | W 72–32 | 1–0 | 14 – Hardy | 11 – Thomas | 4 – Godbolt | Addition Financial Arena (2,730) Orlando, FL |
| November 10, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mercer | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Canceled | Addition Financial Arena Orlando, FL |
| November 15, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Campbell | W 62–60 | 2–0 | 12 – Jewett | 9 – Thomas | 6 – Jewett | Gore Arena (1,276) Buies Creek, NC |
| November 22, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana–Monroe | W 78–54 | 3–0 | 16 – Thomas | 9 – Jewett | 4 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (579) Orlando, FL |
| November 26, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Samford UCF Thanksgiving Classic | W 79–74 $^{2OT}$ | 4–0 | 34 – Jewett | 15 – Thomas | 3 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (210) Orlando, FL |
| November 27, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southeast Missouri State UCF Thanksgiving Classic | W 67–41 | 5–0 | 17 – Gibson | 10 – Tied | 4 – Godbolt | Addition Financial Arena (228) Orlando, FL |
| December 1, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Sam Houston | W 67–55 | 6–0 | 22 – Thomas | 18 – Thomas | 3 – Godbolt | Addition Financial Arena (2,688) Orlando, FL |
| December 3, 2022* 3:00 p.m., SECN+ | | at Auburn | L 46–86 | 6–1 | 9 – Tied | 8 – Thomas | 0 – Tied | Neville Arena (1,892) Auburn, AL |
| December 11, 2022* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Seton Hall | L 56–63 | 6–2 | 16 – Thomas | 24 – Thomas | 5 – Godbolt | Addition Financial Arena (2,841) Orlando, FL |
| December 14, 2022* 6:30 p.m., SECN+ | | at Tennessee | L 64–99 | 6–3 | 12 – Burns | 6 – Burns | 6 – Godbolt | Thompson–Boling Arena (7,188) Knoxville, TN |
| December 20, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Idaho State UCF Christmas Classic | W 67–50 | 7–3 | 16 – Burns | 11 – Thomas | 4 – Thomas | Addition Financial Arena (342) Orlando, FL |
| December 21, 2022* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Elon UCF Christmas Classic | W 64–46 | 8–3 | 21 – Ranke | 11 – Thomas | 8 – Godbolt | Addition Financial Arena (448) Orlando, FL |
| December 29, 2022* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Texas Southern | W 92–67 | 9–3 | 22 – Hutton | 11 – Thomas | 6 – Godbolt | Addition Financial Arena (2,761) Orlando, FL |
| AAC regular season |||||||||
| January 3, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at SMU | L 51–61 | 9–4 (0–1) | 11 – Ranke | 10 – Thomas | 3 – Jewett | Moody Coliseum (572) Dallas, TX |
| January 7, 2023 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tulsa | L 75–80 | 9–5 (0–2) | 22 – Hutton | 13 – Hutton | 4 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (2,765) Orlando, FL |
| January 10, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Houston | L 42–80 | 9–6 (0–3) | 9 – Hardy | 10 – Hardy | 1 – Tied | Fertitta Center (570) Houston, TX |
| January 15, 2023 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wichita State | W 59–56 | 10–6 (1–3) | 24 – Thomas | 13 – Thomas | 4 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (2,821) Orlando, FL |
| January 17, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tulane | L 50–64 | 10–7 (1–4) | 15 – Burns | 7 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (2,746) Orlando, FL |
| January 22, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at South Florida War on I-4 | L 51–83 | 10–8 (1–5) | 16 – Hutton | 10 – Hutton | 3 – Jewett | Yuengling Center (4,227) Tampa, FL |
| January 28, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Temple | L 56–63 | 10–9 (1–6) | 16 – Thomas | 13 – Thomas | 2 – Tied | Liacouras Center (1,939) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 1, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | SMU | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Postponed | Addition Financial Arena Orlando, FL |
| February 4, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | East Carolina | L 54–68 | 10–10 (1–7) | 14 – Thomas | 15 – Thomas | 2 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (2,820) Orlando, FL |
| February 8, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Cincinnati | W 60–57 | 11–10 (2–7) | 16 – Ranke | 4 – Tied | 6 – Godbolt | Fifth Third Arena (627) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 11, 2023 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Memphis | L 48–50 $^{OT}$ | 11–11 (2–8) | 12 – Burns | 13 – Burns | 3 – Ranke | Elma Roane Fieldhouse (687) Memphis, TN |
| February 15, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | South Florida War of I-4 | L 44–73 | 11–12 (2–9) | 8 – Brown | 13 – Burns | 3 – Ranke | Addition Financial Arena (3,354) Orlando, FL |
| February 18, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at East Carolina | L 57–63 | 11–13 (2–10) | 14 – Gibson | 16 – Thomas | 3 – Jewett | Williams Arena (1,110) Greenville, NC |
| February 21, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Temple | W 57–53 | 12–13 (3–10) | 17 – Hutton | 11 – Hutton | 3 – Tied | Addition Financial Arena (2,696) Orlando, FL |
| February 25, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Cincinnati | W 64–54 $^{OT}$ | 13–13 (4–10) | 21 – Thomas | 20 – Thomas | 4 – Godbolt | Addition Financial Arena (3,037) Orlando, FL |
| March 1, 2023 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tulsa | L 60–70 | 13–14 (4–11) | 21 – Burns | 16 – Thomas | 3 – Godbolt | Reynolds Center (1,640) Tulsa, OK |
| AAC Women's Tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (10) | vs. (7) Tulsa First Round | W 69–53 | 14–14 | 20 – Jewett | 12 – Thomas | 10 – Godbolt | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| March 7, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (10) | vs. (2) Memphis Quarterfinals | L 46–48 | 14–15 | 9 – Gibson | 10 – Thomas | 8 – Godbolt | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV* | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | Not released |
| Coaches | RV | RV* | —^ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | | | |
*The preseason and week 1 polls were the same. ^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll.