Nov. 27, 2005
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The UCF women's basketball team (1-3) caps off its California trip with a visit to Santa Clara (0-3) on Monday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 10 p.m. Eastern Time at the Levey Center.
The Golden Knights are looking to halt a three-game losing slide and end the trip on a high note prior to visiting Florida State on Dec. 4. They opened the road trip on Friday night with a 69-57 loss to Butler in the first round of the Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic before falling to Princeton, 91-87, in the tournament's consolation game despite coming back from a 19-point second half deficit.
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA... The Broncos enter Monday's contest after losing to Kansas State, 100-71, in their home opener on Saturday night. Sophomore guard Tracey Walker posted a team-high 15 points and six rebounds, while senior guards Kayla Russ and Michelle Cozad contributed 10 and 13 points, respectively.
Depite a losing record, SCU is averaging 80 points a game against top teams like Georgia and Alabama with Cozad leading the way in both points (16.6) and rebounds (6.0).
THE SERIES VS. SANTA CLARA... Monday night marks the first time that the Broncos and Golden Knights have met on the hardwood.
HOUSTON ROCKET... Junior guard Francine Houston has stepped up to lead the UCF offense early in the season. She was the team's leading scorer in each of the first four games and tops the stat sheet with 19.8 points per game.
In two games against Butler and Princeton in the Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic, Houston averaged 23 points and earned all-tournament team honors for her efforts. Against the Tigers, she went 7-for-10 (70%) from behind the arc to tie UCF's record for most three-pointers made in a single game.
Last season, Houston finished the year as the Golden Knights' No. 3 scorer with 9.6 points per contest.
PERFECT STRANGERS... Of the 23 opponents on the 2005-06 schedule, UCF will be meeting 12 of them for the first time in program history. Among them are the two probable foes at this weekend's Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic - Princeton and St. Mary's - as well as six Conference USA rivals (Houston, Rice, East Carolina, Memphis, Tulsa and SMU).
COMING OUT OF HER SHELL... Named one of Conference USA's Players to Watch, senior forward Shelby Weber is proving that the moniker was well-earned as she has already begun to make a mark this year. Weber currently leads UCF, averaging 7.5 rebounds per game and is just shy of averaging double figures in scoring at nine points per outing.
Pulling down a team-high 6.7 boards a contest last season, she also averaged 5.4 points and 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.
Gomes has started the last two contests and recorded a season-high 10 points against Princeton on Nov. 26.
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 flew to Northern California, where it will spent 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, then head to Alabama to visit former A-Sun rival Troy on Dec. 11.
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.
OPENING NIGHT SUCCESS... With the victory over FAMU, the Golden Knights improved to 5-2 in season openers since head coach Gail Striegler took the helm during the 1999-2000 season.
POLLING STATION... In its 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.