Oct. 14, 2006
Women's Basketball First Practice Photo Gallery
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF women's basketball team held its first practice of the 2006-07 season at the UCF Arena on Saturday afternoon. Among the aspects covered in the session were ball handling, rebounding, posting-up and screens.
"The players gave us a lot of effort and hard work," said UCF head coach Gail Striegler, who is in her eighth year at the helm. "We know we still have work to do and some little mistakes to fix. One of things is to transition what they have learned in the drills in to full court action."
"I think it's the best start that we have had since I have been here," said senior guard Francine Houston (Bradenton, Fla./Southeast HS). "Everyone has a great attitude."
The workout was the first for senior guard Celeste Hudson (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) and junior point guard Lashaunda Slade (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./South Broward HS) since the end of the 2004-05 season as both missed last year due to injuries.
"It felt great to get back among my teammates," said Slade. "We're really working as a team out there and learning to communicate with each other."
The Golden Knights, who last season went 7-21 overall and 5-11 in Conference USA, return six letterwinners, including two of their top three scorers. Houston averaged 13 points per game, while classmate Keunta Miles (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./South Broward HS) scored 8.1 points per outing.
The Golden Knights open the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 11 at Appalachian State. Their first home game is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 17 against Fairleigh Dickinson at 7 p.m. in the UCF Arena.
Season tickets for UCF women's basketball are currently available by calling (407) UCF-1000. Single-game tickets go on sale Nov. 1. For the latest news and information on the Golden Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF athletics.