Dec. 9, 2006
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Despite senior guard Francine Houston's (Bradenton, Fla./Southeast HS) game-high 18 points, the UCF women's basketball team fell short in the second half, losing to No. 25 Florida State, 75-66, at the UCF Arena on Saturday evening.
The Golden Knights (1-8) opened up with a quick three-pointer by senior guard Celeste Hudson (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) and took 21-6 lead on Houston's trey at 12:51. With just under 13 minutes left to play in the first half, UCF shot 8-for-13 (62%) from the floor, including a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc. FSU, meanwhile, hit 2-of-9 (22%) from the field.
The Seminoles (10-1) then went on an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to 23-17 and continued to chip away at UCF's advantage. At 3:07, Florida State took over possession of the scoreboard (29-28) when sophomore center Britany Miller hit a short jumper.
Junior guard Amber Long (Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork HS) closed the half on a personal 7-3 run to give UCF a 35-33 advantage going into intermission. The Golden Knights finished the period shooting 14-for-30 (46.7%), while the Seminoles went 12-for-29 (41.4%). FSU owned the 22-17 edge on the glass.
UCF continued to hold onto their lead in the second half before sophomore guard Mara Freshour's jumper put FSU ahead, 46-45, at 13:22. The two teams battled for possession of the scoreboard until Florida State found its momentum and took over the advantage on a layup by freshman center Jacinta Moore with 12:13 remaining to play.
FSU went up by a game-high 14 points at the 1:21 mark before UCF scored five unanswered points down the stretch.
The Golden Knights shot just under 49% (26-for-58) from the field on the night, while Florida State hit 53.6%. The visitors outrebounded UCF, 39-26.
In addition to Houston, Hudson contributed 16 points, while Long and senior forward Keunta Miles (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./South Broward HS) added 14 and 10 respectively.
Junior guard Shante Williams scored a team-high 16 points for the Seminoles.
The Golden Knights return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 13 at Bethune-Cookman. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. UCF's next home game is against North Florida on Monday, Dec. 18 as part of the UCF Holiday Classic.
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.