ORLANDO – Wichita State came up just shy of picking up a big road win in a back-and-forth affair vs. UCF Saturday afternoon, before falling 59-53 in CFE Arena.

Wichita State (5-12, 0-3) was outrebounded for just the fourth time this season, 33-29, and that proved to be a deciding factor. The Knights were able to grab 13 big offensive rebounds, most of them coming in key moments where the Shockers came up with a stop defensively, but didn't box out.

Rangie Bessard just missed her third straight double-double, finishing with a game-high 17 points and nine boards on 7-of-16 shooting. Fifteen of her 17 points came after halftime. Diamond Lockhart joined Bessard in double-figures with 11 points.

The Shockers finished the game hitting 39.2 percent from the field (4-of-12 from three) and were a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line. UCF cashed in on 42.3 percent of its attempts and missed the only two three-pointers they attempted.

UCF (11-5, 3-0) was led by Masseny Kaba's 13 points, while Zakiya Saunders and Lawriell Wilson added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

1st Quarter
A low scoring first five minutes of the game had the Shockers out to a 6-4 advantage behind four points from Keke Thompson. Three-pointers from Lockhart and Jeliah Preston then gave Wichita State a 12-10 lead after 10 minutes of play.

Both teams struggled from the field with the Shockers hitting 35.7 percent and UCF hitting only 30.8 percent in the first quarter.

The Knights grabbed 11 rebounds in the period compared to just six for the Shockers.

2nd Quarter
The Shockers scored the first five points to open the second, extending the lead to 17-10. UCF then turned WSU miscues into points on the other end to pull within a point at the midway mark.

UCF retook the lead, 24-23, with 2:15 remaining thanks to offensive rebounds. The Knights outrebounded Wichita State, 20-13, in the half with seven coming on the offensive end.

Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage's three-pointer as the buzzer sounds cut UCF's lead to just one at halftime, 27-26.

The Knights bumped their field goal percentage to 42.9 at the break, while Wichita State converted 37 percent of its attempts. Neither team had a player with more than six points in the first 20 minutes.

3rd Quarter
Bessard (4) and Lockhart (2) combined to key a 6-0 spurt to open the half, putting Wichita State back in front, 32-29.

UCF briefly took a 37-34 lead, but Bessard answered right back with a three-point play to tie the game at 37. The two teams traded baskets over the final minute before the Knights scored inside to carry a 39-37 lead into the final 10 minutes.

Bessard scored seven of the team's 11 points in the quarter.

4th Quarter
In the first 30 seconds of play, UCF scored five points to open its largest lead of the game to that point, 44-37.

The Knights got their lead up to nine, but a 6-0 Shocker run brought Wichita State back within three, 46-43, with 6:42 to go and forcing a UCF timeout. Bessard scored inside and knocked down a jumper from the top of the key around a Lockhart floater to make up the run.

After the Shockers cut the deficit to three, UCF pushed it right back to eight, 55-47, with 2:00 minutes on clock. Consecutive scores from Bessard and Preston made it 55-51 with less than a minute remaining.

UCF converted at the free throw line in the final seconds to ice it.

Up Next
Wichita State welcomes the Memphis Tigers to Charles Koch Arena for a 7 p.m. tip on Wednesday, Jan. 10. The Shockers and Tigers can be seen through the Shocker HD portal on GoShockers.com.