Orlando, Fla. -- The Hatters were good early, and the Hatters were great late.

Led by a 20-point performance by sophomore Brianti Saunders, Stetson survived a sluggish middle 20 minutes to post a 67-49 victory over host UCF Wednesday night at CFE Arena.

The Hatters outscored the Knights 25-4 over the final 9:12 of the game to record their first 2-0 start since 2000.

"I think it is huge for us," Stetson head coach Lynn Bria said.  "It is a big confidence booster for us.  It is early, though.  I am not going to say we are any good yet because we are not, but I am very proud of how we stuck together when things weren't going our way."

After jumping out to an early 22-6 advantage, the Hatters managed just nine more points in the first half to take a 31-23 halftime lead.  UCF (2-1) caught Stetson and eventually pulled ahead in the second half, leading by a 45-42 count with 9:28 to play.

The Hatters locked down defensively after that, holding UCF to just four points the rest of the way.

Saunders took over on the offensive end, scoring 12 of her team-high 20 points in the final 7:30 of the contest.

"She lost her mind, she just lost her mind," Bria said about Saunders.  "She put our team on her back and willed us to win.  She just started driving to the basket and hitting some key shots that gave us a lot of confidence and a little bit of cushion."

Saunders helped break a 45-45 tie with a drive through the lane for a lay-up and later another drive that resulted in a three-point play.  

With Stetson leading by seven at the final media timeout, Saunders drained a three-pointer and drove for another lay-up to put the game out of reach.

Myeisha Hall added a 19 points, while Jama Sharp (11 points) and Sarah Sagerer (10 points) also scored in double figures.

UCF entered the game averaging 96.0 points in its two previous victories.  Hall and C.J. Coddington helped limit the Knights leading scorer Zykira Lewis to just 10 points. 

"I thought C.J. and Myeisha did a great job guarding Lewis," Bria said.  "She was averaging 30-some (points) a game.  We just kind of tagged team her with those two."

Stetson pulled down 50 rebounds for the game, including 11 by Amber Porter.  UCF grabbed 51 rebounds as both teams shot under 35 percent for the game.

The Hatters will look for a 3-0 start at 2 p.m. Saturday at Indiana State.

Notes: Amber Porter is now tied for second in school history with 137 career blocked shots.