Nov. 17, 2005
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ORLANDO- The UCF women's basketball team opens the 2005-06 season, its first in Conference USA, with the UCF Golden Knights Classic on Nov. 18 and 19 at UCF Arena. The Golden Knights debut against Florida A&M at 5:30 p.m. on Friday as part of a triple header that begins with West Virginia vs. UT-San Antonio at 3:30 p.m. and ends with the UCF men taking on Rollins at 8 p.m.
The Golden Knights cap off the tournament when they tipoff against West Virginia on Saturday at 6 p.m. Fans can also follow the action via the live gametracker and radio broadcast at www.ucfathletics.com.
SCOUTING FLORIDA A&M... The Ratterlettes, under the guidance of fifth-year head coach Debra Clark, return eight of 15 letterwinners from a team that finished the 2004-05 season with a 14-16 record.
Although FAMU will certainly be looking for leadership from its two senior forwards Myiah Hughes and Elana Greene, it was a freshman that stepped up in the squad's exhibition game. Stephanie Foster paced the Ratterlettes with 19 points in the 76-64 preseason loss to Florida Gulf Coast.
THE SERIES VS. FAMU... Entering the weekend with a two-game winning streak, UCF leads FAMU, 15-5, in the all-time series. The two schools last met on the parquet floor during the 1991-92 season when the Golden Knights posted a 100-81 victory.
OPENING NIGHT SUCCESS... Since head coach Gail Striegler took the helm during the 1999-2000 season, the Golden Knights are 4-2 in season openers. Last season, they debuted with a 60-58 victory at UNLV.
SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA... After opening on a nine-game winning streak, the Mountaineers finished with a 21-13 mark a year ago and advanced to the championship game of the postseason WNIT. WVU returns six players, including starters Meg Bulger, Chakhia Cole and Olayinka Sanni, from that squad.
Bulger started at the point in all 34 contests and averaged a team-high 19.5 points, while both Cole and Sanni put up an average of 7.2 points each. Cole led WVU on the boards, pulling down 7.3 per outing.
The Mountaineers were picked to finish seventh in the new look BIG EAST Conference, which added Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida to its ranks.
THE SERIES VS. WVU... Saturday marks the first meeting between the Mountaineers and the Golden Knights.
POLLING STATION... In their first season in Conference USA, UCF was chosen to finish sixth of 12 teams by the league coaches in the preseason poll. Rice was picked to capture the title with seven first place votes followed by crosstown rival Houston in second with five first place votes. SMU was third with Marshall and Tulsa rounding out the top five.
CELESTIAL BEING... Senior guard Celeste Hudson is the Golden Knights top returning scorer after sinking 11.2 points per game last season. She was also second in rebounding a year ago, averaging 6.0 an outing.
The 2005 Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year, Hudson was selected as one of C-USA's "Players to Watch".
COMING OUT OF HER SHELL... Also named one of the conference's players to watch was senior forward Shelby Weber. Pulling down a team-high 6.7 boards a contest last season, she also averaged 5.4 points as she started 28 of 29 games.
The Golden Knights will be looking for a breakout year from Weber as she will be one of the leaders in the paint.
FOREIGN POLICY... Junior center Juliana Gomes, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is the first foreign-born player to don the Black & Gold jersey during head coach Gail Striegler's tenure. The last international members of the UCF women's basketball team were Scandinavians Anu Mahlamaeki, Vukko Timola and Frida Stromquist, who played during the 1997-98 season.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN... The Golden Knights will be logging some serious travel miles before returning to Orlando for the UCF Holiday Classic on Dec. 16. On Wednesday, the team flies to Northern California, where it will spend Thanksgiving in the San Francisco Bay Area. UCF plays Butler in the opening round of the Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 25 before facing either Princeton or host St. Mary's on Nov. 26. The Golden Knights also take on Santa Clara on Nov. 28 prior to returning home.
On Dec. 4, the Black & Gold visit Florida State for a 2 p.m. game that will be broadcast live on Sun Sports.
ON THE TUBE... UCF will have two games broadcast on television this season. The Dec. 4 match-up at Florida State is scheduled to be carried live at 2 p.m. by Sun Sports, while CSTV is set to broadcast UCF's Jan. 15 contest against UTEP, marking the first time that a Golden Knights' game will be nationally televised.
The UCF women's basketball team opens the 2005-06 season, its first in Conference USA, with the UCF Golden Knights Classic on Nov. 18 and 19 at UCF Arena. The Golden Knights debut against Florida A&M at 5:30 p.m. on Friday as part of a triple header that begins with West Virginia vs. UT-San Antonio at 3:30 p.m. and ends with the UCF men taking on Rollins at 8 p.m.