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Sunday, Dec. 19 5:00pm ET
Texas Tech cruises past Central Florida | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Katrisa O'Neal enjoyed her afternoon in Orlando. She scored a career-high 21 points, while recording five steals, to pace Texas Tech (No. 8 ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll; No. 7 AP) to a 77-43 victory over Central Florida on Sunday. O'Neal, whose previous scoring high had been 17 points, matched that feat early in the second half, scoring six consecutive points to put the Lady Raiders up 59-25. She hit 9-of-13 from the field, as Texas Tech's lead got up to 36 on two occasions in a game UCF never led. "I just felt really comfortable out there," O'Neal said. "I just decided to let my offense feed off my defense and that really got me in the flow of things." O'Neal's scoring spurts came primarily off a heightened defensive intensity. UCF didn't do well against the Texas Tech pressure, turning the ball over 30 times, 18 of them coming in the decisive first half. "I was really proud of the way the team was able to come in here and really step up the tempo defensively," Texas Tech coach Marsha Sharp said. "We continually feed off things like our defense and we're proud of what we've been able to accomplish on that end." The Red Raiders have now surrendered less than 50 points in six of their nine victories, including their last three victories. "We come in focused on that and I think that really helps," O'Neal said. "For me, my defense gets me started and we know we're one of the nation's best in that area. So we come out every game trying to back that up." Texas Tech also got double-digit scoring efforts from seniors Keitha Dickerson (13) and Aleah Johnson (11). The Golden Knights were led by Khaliah Guillory's 14 points and eight rebounds, while Nancy Richter added 10. Richter's 3-pointer with 15:49 remaining in the second half were UCF's first points of the half, as Sharp's Lady Raiders came out intent on keeping the Golden Knights off the board. It was a difficult task for UCF to get any consistency offensively. "We're a young team and we have to learn to remain focused and play as a team," UCF Coach Gail Striegler said. "They have to stay within the continuity of the offense. Texas Tech is a good team and is definitely worthy of its' ranking." | ALSO SEE Womens College Basketball Scoreboard
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