Dec. 19, 2005
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ORLANDO, Fla.-The UCF women's basketball team will play in just its fourth home game of the season when the Miami Hurricanes come to town Tuesday night with tipoff set for 7 p.m. at the UCF Arena. The Golden Knights enter the game with a 2-7 record, while the Hurricanes come in 7-2.
UCF is coming off a disappointing 65-22 loss to UT-Arlington in the UCF Holiday Classic Dec. 17. Junior guard Francine Houston led the Golden Knights with seven points, while senior forward Shelby Weber paced the team in rebounds with six. Junior center Keunta Miles had a career-high two blocks against the Mavericks.
SCOUTING MIAMI... The Hurricanes enter the game against UCF with a 7-2 record. Miami lost to Montana, 83-74, Dec. 16 in Montana. Senior forward Tamara James recorded 22 points with eight rebounds, while Renee Taylor and LaToya Cunningham were second on the team in points with 14 each. Averaging 21.0 points per game, James is one of three players in double figures as Taylor and Melissa Knight have scored 13.8 and 12.4 points per game, respectively. On the boards, James has averaged a team-high 8.3 rebounds.
THE SERIES VS. MIAMI... The Hurricanes hold an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series with the Golden Knights. The two teams last met Dec. 13, 2004 in Coral Gables at the BankUnited Center with Miami defeating UCF, 69-50. Tamara James led the Hurricanes' offensive attack with 29 points and nine rebounds, while Takira Allen and Celeste Hudson paced UCF with 10 points each.
GOLD SMITH... Shayla Smith has made the most of her final season with the Black & Gold. The senior guard is currently second on the team, averaging 9.2 points per game after scoring a career-high 18 points at Troy Dec. 11.
More than that, Smith has made her presence known in the conference rankings as she tops all league players with the best assist/turnover ratio (4.0) and three-point field goal percentage (61.1%).
LENDING A HAND... Senior guards Shayla Smith and LaShay King will each be leaving their mark on the UCF record books at the end of the season. Both are ranked on the school's list for most assists in a career. Adding a team-high 34 helpers to her 194 from the previous three years, King sits in eighth with 228.
Prior to the start of this season, Smith appeared on the list in ninth with 219 assists. With 32 assists this season, she now has 251 during her career and has jumped to sixth place all-time at UCF. Her next hurdle is Brinda Green's fifth-place mark of 257 assists.
Among conference players, King is listed sixth with 3.78 assists per game, while Smith is seventh at 3.56.
HOUSTON ROCKET... Junior guard Francine Houston has stepped up to lead the UCF offense early in the season. She continues to be the team's leading scorer in each outing and tops the stat sheet with 17.6 points per game. Through games of Dec. 18, Houston was third in the conference in scoring, while she was first in three-point field goals made (3.44), an effort that also ranks second in the nation.
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 performance. 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. She also sank 23 points at Santa Clara on Nov. 28.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE... Two Golden Knights have already recorded double-doubles early in the 2005-06 season. Senior forward Shelby Weber posted her third career double-double when she scored 14 points and pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds against Butler in the Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 25.
Not to be outdone by her teammate, junior forward Juliana Gomes earned the first double-double of her career three days later as she had a career night with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Santa Clara.
COMING OUT OF HER SHELL... Named one of Conference USA's Players to Watch, senior forward Shelby Weber is certainly proving that moniker was well-deserved as she has already begun to make a mark this year. Weber currently leads UCF on the boards, averaging 7.0 rebounds per game, which ranks her ninth in the conference. She is also putting up 7.3 points per outing.
Weber leads the team in blocks with 13 and is ranked fifth in C-USA with 1.44 per outing.
FOREIGN POLICY... Junior forward 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 five contests for UCF and is averaging 3.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest.