Jan. 27, 2006
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Sophomore guard Amber Long scored a game-high 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds as UCF defeated Memphis, 65-54, in Conference USA women's basketball action at Elma Roane Fieldhouse on Friday night.
With their first league win on the road, the Golden Knights improved to 3-5 in C-USA and 5-14 overall. The Tigers fell to 2-16 overall and 0-7 in the conference.
Long scored the first point of the game from the foul line at 18:13 before the Tigers countered with seven unanswered points. The Golden Knights tied the game at seven points all on a jumper by senior guard Shayla Smith at 12:45 then built their advantage to 11-9 just over a minute later.
Neither team dropped a field goal for four minutes until UCF senior forward Shelby Weber hit a jumper at 7:23. Continuing to build upon their momentum, the Golden Knights pulled out to a 22-15 advantage, but the Tigers tied the score at 22 on a three-pointer by junior guard Devin Necaise with 1:11 remaining. The home team took a 25-24 lead on a subsequent three-pointer before freshman center Jackie Akers knocked down a last second shot to give UCF the 26-25 advantage at intermission.
Memphis finished the first half shooting 8-for-30 (26.7%) from the field but hit three of eight attempts (37.5%) from behind the arc and six of seven chances (85.7%) from the foul line. UCF, meanwhile, went 12-for-35 (34.3%) from the field, missing all six three-point opportunities, and were 2-for-4 (50%) from the charity stripe.
The Golden Knights opened the second period strongly as they knocked down all four of their shots to go on a 9-2 run. Memphis fought back with nine unanswered points and took a 36-35 advantage on a jumper by senior forward Jamie Bradley at 13:37.
The two teams then battled for possession of the scoreboard until UCF started to pull away and took a seven-point lead on a shot by Long at the 2:34 mark. The Tigers cut the lead to 58-53 with 33 remaining, but the Knights hit seven free throws to seal the win.
From the field, UCF finished the night shooting 37.5% (24-for-64) to Memphis' 32.3% (20-for-62). The Golden Knights also hit 16 of 26 chances from the free throw line, including seven for eight in the final 32 seconds.
In addition to Long, Weber contributed 14 points and Akers had 11 for UCF. Sophomore guard Gresh Gorman and senior guard Tamika Butler each had a team-high 11 points for the Tigers.
The Golden Knights visit UAB on Sunday for a 3 p.m. ET tip-off.