Jan. 22, 2006
ORLANDO - Senior forward LaToya Horton sank a career-high 17 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to lead East Carolina to a 68-63 second half victory over UCF in Conference USA women's basketball action at UCF Arena on Sunday afternoon.
ECU improved to 11-6 overall and 3-3 in C-USA. The Golden Knights fell to 4-14 and 2-5 despite a near perfect game from sophomore guard Amber Long, who shot 7-for-7 from the field for a team-high 15 points. She also went 1-for-3 from the foul line.
The two squads exchanged possession of the scoreboard several times in the early minutes of the first period as neither team could pull together a run. Junior guard Francine Houston hit a three-pointer at 13:18 to give the Golden Knights their first significant lead,10-6.
With UCF up 15-11, ECU sank eight unanswered points, including two three-point plays by freshman guard Jessica Slack, to take over the advantage at 8:22. The Golden Knights tied the game once again at 19 on a jumper by Long less than a minute later and took a seven-point lead (30-23) with 1:09 left.
Although the Pirates scored the final two baskets of the half, UCF remained ahead 30-27 at the intermission.
The Golden Knights opened strong in the second period behind two baskets by senior forward Shelby Weber and went up 38-30 on a jumper by Long at 16:00. Regrouping their offense, the Pirates tied the game at 42 on a shot by sophomore forward Nicole Days at 10:42 then grabbed the lead on the next play.
Over the next five minutes the two teams continued to battle for possession of the scoreboard. The two teams were tied 55 when ECU went on an 8-3 run to reclaim the advantage at 63-57 at 2:42.
With 36 seconds left on the clock, UCF junior forward Keunta Miles completed a three-point play to close the deficit to 63-61. The Pirates hit five of six foul shots as the clocked ticked down to clinch the win.
The Golden Knights outgunned the visitors from the field in the first half, shooting 41.7% (10-for-24) to 34.5% (10-for-29). In the second, ECU sank 63.6% (14-for-22), while UCF hit 39.4% (13-for-33). East Carolina also held a 39-30 overall advantage in rebounding.
Both Young and Slack contributed 10 points to the Pirates' victory, while Houston added 14 points for the Knights. Weber tied Horton's game-high with nine rebounds.
The Golden Knights return to action at Memphis on Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. ET.