Nov. 17, 2006
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Senior guard Francine Houston (Bradenton, Fla./Southeast HS) scored a game-high 26 points as the UCF women's basketball team fell to Fairleigh Dickinson, 77-64, in the opening round of the UCF Golden Knights Tournament at UCF Arena on Friday night.
After netting the first basket of the game, UCF (0-3) held the visitors scoreless for the opening three minutes. With the scored tied at seven all at 15:29, FDU (1-1) knocked down four unanswered points to earn their first significant advantage.
The Golden Knights pulled within a point twice, the last time on a layup by senior Juliana Gomes (Sao Paulo, Brazil) with 11:27 remaining in the period. Fairleigh Dickinson then went on a 7-0 run and held a 40-34 lead at intermission.
In the second half, UCF pressured the ball and cut FDU's advantage to three points at 53-50 on layup by freshman Jimerea Lee (Philadelphia, Pa./Neumann-Goretti HS) with just under 11 minutes left to play.
UCF stayed within five points and both teams suffered from a four-minute offensive before Fairleigh Dickinson went on an 8-0 run. The visitors continued to build upon their lead and went up by a game-high 13 points when freshman guard Jordan Sykes hit the second of her two fouls shots with 50 seconds remaining on the clock.
On the night, Houston hit 10-of-18 from the floor and sank 6-of-12 three-pointers. Freshman forward Kristin Thomas (Orlando, Fla./Edgewater HS) pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
FDU capitalized on its opportunities at the foul line as the Knights knocked down 25-of-33 attempts (75.85%). UCF was 4-for-11 from the charity stripe.
Junior forward Jennifer Walkling recorded 15 points and a game-high 10 boards, while Sykes posted a team-high 24 points.
In the evening's earlier game, senior forward Ali Mann scored 16 points and senior center Liz Honegger added 15 to lead Bowling Green (2-1) to a 76-40 win over Albany (1-2). Senior guard Amanda Ward put up 12 points for the Great Danes in the loss.
Action at the UCF Golden Knights Tournament concludes on Saturday, Nov. 18 at UCF Arena. UCF takes on Albany in the consolation game at 3 p.m. followed by Fairleigh Dickinson and Bowling Green at 5 p.m. Tickets for home contests are available by calling (407) UCF-1000.
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.