Jan. 5, 2007
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Senior Francine Houston (Bradenton, Fla./Southeast HS) and Keunta Miles (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./South Broward HS) each scored 14 points as UCF fell to host Marshall, 62-58, in Conference USA women's basketball action at the Henderson Center on Friday night.
Senior guard Celeste Hudson (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) also contributed 13 points, breaking into UCF's top 10 list for most points scored in a career with 964.
With the teams tied at 20 entering the second half, two quick layups by Miles gave the Golden Knights (5-10, 0-2 C-USA) the early lead and the Golden Knights extended the advantage to 31-24 at 15:34.
A 14-2 run, including eight unanswered points by senior center Modupe Ishola, put Marshall (9-6, 2-1 C-USA) back on top, 38-33. The Golden Knights gradually cut the deficit to 58-56 with just under a minute left to play, but the Thundering Herd held on to the lead as they capitalized on four foul shots down the stretch.
Neither team took solid possession in the opening minutes of the game as the lead changed hands six times. Marshall built a 14-10 advantage at 11:35, but a three-pointer by Hudson dropped it back to 14-13 less than 30 seconds later.
The Thundering Herd regained some momentum offensively as they pulled ahead 19-13 at 5:51 on a jumper by senior forward KaShawna Curry. Houston tied the score at 20 with 1:33 on the clock and game remained 20 all at the intermission.
Marshall finished the game shooting 40.4% from the floor, while the Golden Knights hit 34.8%. MU also owned a 53-30 advantage on the boards.
The Golden Knights scored 24 points off of Marshall's 27 turnovers.
UCF continues its road swing when it visits East Carolina on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 2 p.m. before returning home to play UAB on Friday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. and Memphis on Sunday, Jan. 14 at 2 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.