The Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ men’s and women’s basketball teams both notched victories against American Athletic Conference opponents in Sunday’s doubleheader at CFE Arena to remain undefeated in league play.

The women took their game down to the wire against Cincinnati and came out on top, 56-55, thanks to junior guard Kay Kay Wright’s layup with five seconds remaining in the game.

Fueled by four Knights who scored in double digits, the men followed up with a 76-65 win over East Carolina.

The two squads are receiving votes in both the Associated Press top 25 and USA Today Coaches top 25 rankings. It marks the first time in school history that both programs are earning recognition in the polls in the same season.

Women’s Winning Ways

The women’s team has won four in a row and is off to a 3-0 start in conference play for the second straight year.

With a 14-2 overall record, the Knights are in the middle of one of their best seasons in program history. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ has defeated eight opponents that made either the NCAA Tournament or WNIT last season.

Part of the reason for the Knights’ success can be attributed to their stellar defense. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ leads The American and ranks among the top 10 in the nation for scoring defense, limiting opponents to an average of 53.6 points per game.

Wright, who scores 19.3 points per game, is also a major factor as the second leading scorer in the conference.

Ticket information for the women’s games can be found online at ucfknights.com.

Men’s Rise to the Top

With a 13-2 overall record, including 3-0 in conference games, the men’s team currently sits atop The American’s standings as the only remaining unbeaten team in league play.

The Knights are currently riding a seven-game winning streak — their longest streak since the 2010-11 season.

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ boasts two of the conference’s top scorers in senior guards B.J. Taylor ’18 (17.3 points per game) and Aubrey Dawkins ’18 (15.9 points per game) and two of the league’s best shot blockers in senior forwards Tacko Fall (3.1 blocks per game) and Chad Brown (1.2 blocks per game).

In fact, Fall has already claimed the school record for career blocks and currently ranks seventh in the country for total blocks so far this season (47).

Ticket information for the men’s games can be found online at ucfknights.com.

Up Next

Fans can catch both teams at CFE Arena at their next doubleheader Saturday, Jan. 19. The men tip off first at noon against Tulsa, and the women will follow at 2 p.m. against SMU.

The teams are in action separately before the weekend. The men will play on the road at Wichita State at 10 p.m. ET Wednesday, while the women are home on Wednesday at 6 p.m. against Tulsa.

Fans can also enjoy a unique opportunity to interact with Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ head coaches Johnny Dawkins and Katie Abrahamson-Henderson at today’s Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Knight Talk.

Hosted by longtime play-by-play announcer Marc Daniels, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ Knight Talk is a weekly radio show held at Burger U at 6 p.m. on Mondays leading up to the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The show is free for all fans to attend and there will be opportunities to ask questions during the live program.

Abrahamson-Henderson, also known as Coach Abe, has inked a one-year deal keeping her at the helm through the 2022-23 season. Dawkins will lead the Knights through the 2023-24 season.

“We are very fortunate to have Katie Abrahamson-Henderson leading our women’s basketball program [and] I am thrilled to have Johnny Dawkins leading our men’s basketball program,� says Danny White, vice president and director of .

Under Abrahamson-Henderson’s guidance, the Knights finished the 2017-18 campaign with a 22-11 record, tying the most wins in a season as a Division I program. Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ turned in a 12-4 mark in The American – its best record in league play since 2010-11 – and posted its highest finish in the conference for the second consecutive season, earning the third seed. One year after earning the program’s first postseason victory in either the NCAA or WNIT tournaments, Abrahamson-Henderson’s squad followed with a second-straight WNIT second round appearance.

“I am blessed and excited for the confidence of Danny White, Brandi Stuart, former President Hitt and new President Whittaker,� Abrahamson-Henderson says. “Our team’s success over the last two seasons, both on the court and in the classroom, would not be possible without their support. Our entire staff is looking forward to building on the success of back-to-back postseason appearances as we head into this season and the future.�

Dawkins took over a 12-18 team that hadn’t finished above .500 since the 2012-13 season and has led Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ to 43 wins in his two years under his leadership. In the last two seasons, Dawkins’ Knights have made a run to the National Invitation Tournament Semifinals, led the NCAA in field goal percentage defense, won at Memphis for the first time ever and earned their first true road win over a ranked opponent.

“I’m very thankful to Danny White, Eric Wood, former President John Hitt, and new President Dale Whittaker for their continued support of me and my staff,â€� Dawkins says. “It’s great to have our administration behind us, knowing they believe in what we’re doing as a program and our standard of representing Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ and the community at the highest level.â€�

With the average team GPA of 3.0 for the last two semesters, both coaches have seen academic growth among their players.

Purchase tickets for the upcoming 2018-19 men’s and women’s basketball seasons online or call 407-823-1000. 

After playing under Hall of Fame coaches for the University of Georgia and University of Iowa, as well as one season professionally overseas, Abrahamson-Henderson began coaching in 1990. This season, as head coach of Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½â€™s women’s basketball team, Abrahamson-Henderson led the Knights to their best season with 22 wins, a tie for their highest since becoming a Division I team, and their first back-to-back postseason appearances in program history.

“I set the bar really high [for players] in terms of their personal lives, their academic lives and their goals for the future,� says Abrahamson-Henderson.

Before coming to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ in 2016, Abrahamson-Henderson, also known as Coach ABE, helped the Albany Great Danes win a combined nine America East Conference tournament and regular season titles. And she was named the America East Coach of the Year three times.

But Abrahamson-Henderson doesn’t only help the women she coaches to become better athletes, she encourages their personal development and academic success to shape them into the leaders of the future. Having earned a bachelor’s in physical education with an emphasis in sports administration at Iowa and a master’s in education from Duquesne University, she knows first-hand the importance of academics.

“I set the bar really high in terms of their personal lives, their academic lives and their goals for the future,� says Abrahamson-Henderson. “We talk about those things from the moment they walk in. What they want to do the next 55 years of the life, not just basketball.�

We sat down with Coach ABE to learn more about how sports can empower women beyond the court.

Nicole Dudenhoefer: You started out as a swimmer and eventually became more interested in basketball. Why is it important to encourage young girls to participate in sports?

Katie Abrahamson-Henderson: For self-confidence. I really think self-confidence is huge. I mean obviously with my daughters [Savannah and Brooklyn] I try to thrust them in there and it gives them a sense of purpose. I think women, when they’re fit and they’re healthy and they feel like they’re accomplishing something, they’re stronger women.

ND: What does it feel to be in a position to mentor so many women?

KAH: It’s a big responsibility because there are so many different personalities and not every young person is raised the same way. So it’s a huge responsibility for me as a coach in trying to raise somebody else’s child. We’re really selective on who we choose because you’re going to want to be focused, you’re going to want to work hard and you’re going to want to have to accomplish something at a higher level, at a higher bar than maybe you’re comfortable doing.

ND: What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned from sports that has helped you succeed in your personal life and your professional life?

KAH: Hard work. I learned that when I was growing up [as a swimmer]. My family, my mother, who raised four kids on her own, taught me that. [Her father died when she was 12.] I also learned that when I was playing college basketball, and then [coaching] Elite Eight [teams in the NCAA] pretty much every year. And obviously I’ve played for great coaches, so they taught me that, too.

ND: You’ve emphasized the importance of a solid education even above athletics. Why is it important for athletes and women to be excellent in more areas than just sports?

KAH: Basketball ends for women — unlike for men it may go a little longer — but basketball ends and so I really try to empower them in what they’re going to do the next 55 years of their life.

Basketball ends for women — unlike for men it may go a little longer — but basketball ends and so I really try to empower them in what they’re going to do the next 55 years of their life.

If they want to accomplish anything, set goals for themselves, and if they want a really good job that pays more than minimum wage, they’re going to have to be smarter, tougher and stronger. The jobs aren’t waiting for them. They’re going to have to find a way to go get them.

So I try to train them that way. I teach them little things, how to shake people’s hands, how to talk to people, how to look people in the eye, how to dress appropriately and how to talk to each other. There are a lot of little intangibles that we do every single day.

ND: How can you tell when you’ve made an impact on your players?

KAH: I think when I see that they can achieve success without me telling them how to get it, and they are constantly doing it. An example of this is Tolulope Omokore. She’s [No.] 25 on our team. She came into the office and told me she wants to work for Nike. I told her, “Oh you do? Well so do two million other people in the world.�

So I told her step by step what she needed to do in order to get to this path. There are tons of people around this university that know Nike reps and [other] people that need to get you in touch, and give you the references that you need to get and the marketing you need to work on and so on.

And she has gone from having no clue of knowing how to do that, to now she calls me the next day and says she met this person from this company, and this person from that company and I’m like, “Wow, that’s amazing.�

So I know that I have empowered her and touched her life that way, because she has taken it to another level. She is so driven to get what she wants and she’s on the right path to do it.

ND: What’s the most meaningful thing a player has said to you about any sort of mentorship you’ve given?

KAH: “I love you, Coach ABE.� “Thank you, Coach ABE. I love you.� To be honest, when I get invited back to their weddings or they come visit me, and things like that, that shows I was a really good coach.

“I’m just happy for the seniors,” head coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson said. “They continue to make memories. I’m really excited for them. (Zykira) played like a senior tonight.”

Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ (21-11) advances to the second round of the WNIT and will face Georgia Tech on Sunday. The squad will head to Atlanta for the 5 p.m. tip.

Heading into the second quarter locked in an 8-8 score, senior Zykira Lewis single-handedly went on a 7-0 run to give her team the advantage. The Knights led by as many as nine points on three occasions before taking a 27-20 edge into the locker rooms.

The Knights outscored Stetson 29-14 in the third quarter to break the game open. Cruising to 73-53 victory, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ has now won eight of its last 10 games.

Junior Aliyah Gregory scored a game-high 23 points, followed closely by Zykira Lewis’ 22 points. The duo each dished out four assists and swiped three steals apiece.

Sophomore Tolulope Omokore added 12 points and collected four of her six rebounds on the offensive glass.

Notables
• Hitting five shots behind the arc, Zykira Lewis pushed her career total to 270. She continues to hold the record for the most three-pointers made by a Knight, man or woman, in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ history.
• Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ earned its 21st victory of the season, marking its most wins since the 2010-11 campaign when the Knights went 22-11.
• The Knights snapped a two-game skid against Stetson. The Hatters had won the 2014 and 2015 contests.

Quotables
Coach Abe on the importance of Zykira Lewis tonight:
“Last year’s game (against Stetson) didn’t feel good to them. They remembered it. I think (Zykira) really came out and played like a senior. She was open on a lot of her three-pointers, and that’s what she’s supposed to do. We were just telling her to knock them down.”

Senior Zykira Lewis on being part of the program’s first-ever win:
“I’m just very excited. I feel like my teammates are fighting for me and (Joslyn Massey). To see that motivates me to play hard, to play for my coaches. Being in this postseason feels really good for me since it’s my first time.”

Junior Aliyah Gregory on her 14-point performance in the third quarter:
“My teammates were putting me in good positions. I know a lot of the shots that I did make weren’t off of me creating it myself. It was off a good pass from one of my teammates. I think my teammates were really looking for me, putting me in positions where I like to shoot the ball. We were able to be aggressive in our press and I was able to get steals and capitalize off that.”

Family. Academics. Basketball.

In that order.

The backbone of her coaching philosophy was mentioned often during her introductory press conference on Friday at the Wayne Densch Center for Student-Athlete Leadership. And it’s part of what brought her here to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½.

“We’re going to lead with that philosophy all the time, and going through this [hiring] process, it is exactly the same thing that Danny (White) was saying the whole time,â€� she said. “It kind of rang a bell, and I was like, ‘This is a good fit.’â€�

Abrahamson-Henderson’s philosophy stems from the lessons she learned while playing at Iowa under Basketball Hall of Fame head coach C. Vivian Stringer.

It’s a system that works for her. During her coaching career over the last two decades, she has helped three different teams reach the NCAA Tournament and five programs reach postseason play.

At her most recent stop at Albany, she led the Great Danes to a combined nine America East Conference tournament and regular season titles. Her Albany teams recorded five 20-win seasons en route to five-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program’s first bid in 2011 and its first NCAA Tournament victory in 2016.

“I think we have one of the most talented coaches in all of women’s basketball in the country, someone that built a dynasty at Albany and is leaving a dynasty that was built to continue to win,â€� Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ vice president and director of athletics Danny White said. “What she’s done in her career is unbelievable, and everything I learned about her from people that know women’s basketball really well, she’s as high level of a coach as there is, and we’re really fortunate to have her here.â€�

Abrahamson-Henderson believes success comes from empowering her student-athletes as women, not just players. Self-confidence will lead to results.

“We’re going to keep empowering them as women, and educate them and… make them feel really good about who they are, and being a part of this program, and be proud to walk around,â€� she said. “When they leave this university, they look back and say, ‘I loved my basketball career; I loved Coach Abe.’â€�

Then, without missing a beat, her wit lightened up the standing-room only assembly hall.

“And maybe in the future somebody is rich and they have a house with a pool that I can come swimming at.�

Although it has been a whirlwind week for Abrahamson-Henderson, she has already started to watch film on the Knights. She is excited by what she saw and believes she can run her style of play: pressing and wearing out opponents.

She knows she must earn the team’s trust and get them to buy into the process, but once they do, she believes there’s no limit to what the Knights can achieve.

“I think we have the talent. I think we have the athleticism. I think we have a lot of key ingredients here. We’re just going to take one day at a time,â€� she said. “We’re going to enjoy the journey. We’re going to work really hard. We’re going to bond really well, and that’s just kind of how I do things.â€�