Mustangs on deck tonight

Continuing to climb the ladder in Conference USA standings and riding a three-game winning streak, the Knights (9-9, 4-2) will host the SMU Mustangs (10-8, 3-2) at the UCF Arena tonight.

The Knights are coming off of their first road win of the season, a 55-44 victory over Marshall on Sunday. Gevenia Carter bested her former career-high, set just two games prior, and carried the team offensively with 28 points and two assists.

SMU has history on its side, owning a 6-2 record against the Knights.

Having easily defeated East Carolina, 68-44, on Sunday with the help of senior forward Christine Elliot's season-high 16 points, the Mustangs rely on lockdown defense to secure wins. They were able to hold ECU scoreless for seven-and-a-half minute stretch in Sunday's matchup.

Tonight they are putting their own three-game string of victories on the line.

Only 2-4 away from home, SMU will have a red-hot UCF team standing in the way of another win.

A matchup of interest will be UCF's Kayli Keough against SMU's sophomore forward Akil Simpson. Simpson earned her first C-USA Player of the Week honors for the week of Jan. 16 when she posted back-to-back double-doubles and a career-high 15 rebounds. She also ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage.

The Player of the Week honors would soon be awarded to UCF's Carter on Jan. 23. She won the award for the first time in her career after averaging 21.5 points during UCF's win streak and being a pest on defense (four steals on Sunday).

Aisha Patrick, Keough and Erika Jones have been playing at a high level as well. Jones is second in the league averaging 10.3 rebounds per game.

Tonight's game is set up to be a physical, sure challenge for everyone involved. The contest will feature two teams in position to break into the top of the conference. One of these teams will keep their streak alive.