Dec. 31, 2005
ORLANDO, Fla. - Amber Long recorded a career-high 16 points as UCF fell to Southern Miss, 61-50, Saturday afternoon at UCF Arena. The Golden Knights fell to 2-10 on the season and 0-1 in Conference USA, while the Golden Eagles improved to 4-8 and 1-0.
Long scored her 16 points on five field goals, one three-pointer and five free throws. Francine Houston was second on the team in points with 13, while Keunta Miles led the team in rebounds with seven.
Ashely Boehnel had a team-high 15 points for Southern Miss, while the Golden Eagles also had three others in double-digits. Liz Biland and Kelsey Gurganus paced the team in rebounds with six boards each.
Boehnel scored the first points of the game on a layup and a free throw. Three minutes later, Houston evened the score with a three pointer.
After Houston's three-pointer, Southern Miss' Amber Eugene sank back-to-back layups to give the Golden Eagles a 7-3 lead. UCF then went on an 11-9 run with Long recording all 11 points for the Golden Knights.
With seven minutes left in the half, UCF pulled to within one. Three minutes later, Southern Miss had extended its lead to six. The teams went into halftime with the Golden Eagles up, 28-24.
At the end of the first half, Long had scored 11 points for UCF, while Jackie Akers and Houston each had five. For Southern Miss, Eugene had a team-high 10 points.
Miles started the second half with a layup to bring the Golden Knights to within two of the Golden Eagles.
Southern Miss then went on a 12-4 run to go up by 10 over the next 10 minutes with Boehnel scoring six of the points for the Golden Eagles.
UCF was unable to over the double-digit lead the rest of the game. With a 1:26 left in the game, the Golden Eagles took a 16-point lead, their largest of the game. After four free throws by Southern Miss and three three-point plays UCF, the game ended with the Golden Eagles up, 61-50.
The Golden Knights return to the court on Friday, Jan. 6 when the team heads to Houston to take on the Cougars. UCF returns home the following Friday to face Tulane at 7 p.m.