Nov. 23, 2007
Lawrenceville, N.J. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Tia Lewis (Poulan, Ga.) had a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) added a team-high 17 points, despite the UCF women's basketball team falling to Rider in a 76-74 heartbreaker at the Alumni Gymnasium Friday night.
Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.) and Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) also scored in double-digits for the Knights, adding 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Black and Gold out-shot the Broncs 52.5% to 50.0% in the game, but, for the first time in their last three contests, the Knights lost the battle on the glass, 33-32. UCF's bench also out-scored the Broncs, 19-10, with D'Nay Daniels (Atlanta, Ga.) scoring 7 and Jackie Akers (Cape Coral, Fla.) adding 6 in her first appearance this season.
Trailing 10-2 at the 16:36 mark of the first half, the Knights went on a 10-2 run to tie the game at 12 with 11:30 left. A layup by Lewis at 7:38 put UCF in the lead by one, 20-19. Eight straight points from Wiley extended UCF's lead by nine and helped the Knights go into the locker room with a 41-34 advantage over Rider.
The Knights shot 53.6% from the floor in the first half, with Cannon scoring 12 of her 17 points in the opening period.
Rider opened the second half on a 15-5 run to take back the lead, 47-46, with 15:00 left to go in the game. Angelica Mealing (Decatur, Ga.) put the Black and Gold ahead by three at the 10 minute-mark, but two three-pointers from Amanda Sepulveda and one from Tammy Meyers put the Broncs in the lead, 69-64. The Knights tied the game with 44 seconds remaining in the contest, but a layup and a free throw gave Rider the lead and the game.
UCF shot 41.2% (7-for-17) from the free throw line in the second half, while the Broncs were nearly perfect, shooting 90.9% (10-for-11) from the charity stripe in the final period.
The Knights conclude their two-game road-swing when they face LaSalle Sunday at the Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia, Pa. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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