Jan. 20, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Senior forward Keunta Miles (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./South Broward HS) posted her second consecutive double-double as UCF fell to Southern Miss, 65-63, in Conference USA women's basketball action at UCF Arena on Saturday afternoon.
It was the fifth double-double of Miles' career as she recorded 12 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. Also for the Golden Knights (6-13, 1-5 C-USA), senior guard Francine Houston (Bradenton, Fla./Southeast HS) sank a team-high 18 points and freshman forward Kristin Thomas (Orlando, Fla./Edgewater HS) contributed 10 points.
Southern Miss (11-8, 5-1 C-USA) took a 39-23 lead at the intermission and pulled ahead by as much as 18 points after making the first two buckets of the second half. The Lady Eagles were up 47-31 when Thomas hit a layup at 13:07 that sparked a 25-8 run by the Golden Knights. Junior guard Amber Long (Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork HS) capped off the run at 6:35 with a basket that gave UCF its first lead, 54-53.
The two teams played tight down the stretch. With just under two minutes remaining in regulation, the Knights went up 63-60 after sinking five of six attempts from the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Kendra Reed hit a three-pointer for at 1:18 and sophomore guard Amber Eugene capitalized on two foul shots with 57 seconds remaining to seal the win for Southern Miss.
The Lady Eagles took a 9-2 advantage in the opening minutes of the game before Miles and Houston hit a layup and a trey to bring UCF back within two. A quick three by Reed helped the Lady Eagles regain the offensive momentum as the visitors held onto the lead at the end of the first period.
Southern Miss shot 50% on the afternoon, while UCF hit 36.7%. The Golden Knights owned a 39-28 margin on the boards and also earned more points off turnovers and in the paint.
Eugene finished with a game-high 29 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Reed added 20 points.
Next up, the Golden Knights travel to UTEP on Friday, Jan. 26 for a 9:05 p.m. (ET) tipoff against the Miners then visit Tulane on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 3 p.m. (ET). 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.