Jan. 30, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Having played four of its last five games on the road, the UCF women's basketball team returns home to the friendly confines of the new UCF Arena to play host to a four-game homestand. That homestand begins Thursday when the Knights entertain Marshall with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. EST. The game will be carried live on UCFAthletics.com with Scott Adams on the call.
UCF (8-11, 1-5 Conference USA) is coming off an 84-62 loss on the road at Southern Miss last Friday night. Freshman forward Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) scored a team-high 12 points to lead three Knights who scored in double figures. After falling behind 21-3 to begin the game, UCF staged a valiant comeback to come as close as 11 points late in the second half.
"This is a huge game for us on Thursday," UCF head coach Joi Williams said. "All of the games are big, but it's exciting that we are back at home. We've had a taste of victory in the conference and we've also had our share of losses. We're excited about the challenge. When we got back from Southern Miss, we had to kind of go back to the drawing board to try to get ready for this challenge tomorrow night."
The Knights are led by freshman forward/center Tia Lewis (Poulan, Ga.), the nation's third-leading rebounder, who averages 12.2 rebounds per game and a team-leading 12.9 points per game, which ranks 11th in the league. Lewis also ranks 18th in the NCAA in field-goal percentage with a 57.1 percent (104-of-182) clip. Cannon follows with 10.7 ppg, while freshman guards D'Nay Daniels (Atlanta) and Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.) each add 10.4 ppg.
UCF leads Conference USA and ranks 19th in the nation in rebound margin with a +7.6 advantage. UCF has won the rebound battle in 13 games this season, including four of its last five. Additionally, the Knights have held 18 of their 19 opponents this season to 50 percent shooting or less, including nine consecutive.
UCF and Marshall meet for the sixth time in school history with the Thundering Herd holding a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series. The teams have met four times since the Knights joined Conference USA, having also met during the 1986-87 campaign. The lone win for UCF in the series came on Feb. 24, 2006, in Huntington, W.Va.
Marshall, which is in the midst of a four-game road swing, enters Thursday's contest with an 11-9 record and a 3-3 mark in C-USA play. The Thundering Herd have lost four of their last five games, including a near upset of No. 12 West Virginia on Jan. 23. Both of the team's last two losses have come by seven or fewer points. Head Coach Royce Chadwick is looking to go for his 500th career win. Including five years at the junior college level, Chadwick has accumulated 499 career wins in his 24th season as a head coach.
Marshall is led by a pair of guards in junior Casey Baker and senior Kizzy Hart. Baker leads the conference and ranks 23rd in the nation with 3.2 steals per game. She is the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 12.1 ppg, while Hart leads the squad with 14.0 ppg.
"We are going to have to take care of the ball," Williams said. "We have tried to simulate that the best that we could in these last few days of practice. Baker's hands are extremely quick, but all of their guards, including Hart, do a great job defensively. Marshall is one of the top defensive teams in the conference and we have talked a lot about taking care of the ball. I expect for us to do a much better job of taking care of the ball and being sure with the ball on Thursday night."
Prior to Thursday's tip-off, UCF Athletics will be hosting a group of key dignitaries who have expressed interest in supporting the Knights' women's athletic programs. As an effort to begin building relationships, the UCFAA has invited them to come out and enjoy the game, food and conversation among executive staff and the Knights' female coaches. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. in the party suite at the new UCF Arena.
UCF will play host to the 2008 Conference USA Women's Basketball Tournament, March 6-9, at the new UCF Arena. Single-game and session ticket packages are now available. Call the UCFAA Ticket Sales Office at 407-823-1000. For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
Quick Notes
- UCF and Marshall meet for the sixth time in school history with the Thundering Herd holding a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series. The lone win for the Knights in the series came on Feb. 24, 2006, a 66-63 UCF win in Huntington, W.Va.
- As a team, UCF ranks first in Conference USA in rebounding offense with 43.7 boards per game, while also leading the league in rebound margin with a +7.6 advantage. The Knights are tops in C-USA in rebounds on the defensive end with 28.83 per game and have out-rebounded their opponents in 13 games this season.
- UCF has held 18 of its 19 opponents this season to 50 percent shooting or less, including nine consecutive.
- Balanced scoring has been a key for UCF this season as four of the team's top five scorers average in double figures and seven average five or more points per game. At least two players have tallied double figure points every game this season.
- The Knights lead Conference USA in double-doubles by a team with 20 on the season. Tia Lewis has notched a squad-best 12 double-dips, while Emma Cannon has accomplished the feat eight times this year.
- Strong bench play has been a key factor for UCF in each of its last three games. During that span, the Knights' reserves have outscored the opponent bench 92-48. UCF's bench has outscored the opponent reserves 11 times this season.
- Through 19 games this season, UCF coach Joi Williams has used 10 different starting lineups.
- Freshman forward/center Tia Lewis, the nation's third-leading rebounder, has led the team in rebounding a squad-best 14 times this season.
- Junior center Jackie Akers has posted two or more blocks in each of the team's last five games.
- Freshman forward Emma Cannon has provided a key spark off the bench for UCF in its last three games. She has come off the bench in each of those three contests and has led the Knights in scoring in two of those games.
Pre-Game Quotes - UCF Head Coach Joi Williams
"This is a huge game for us on Thursday. All of the games are big, but it's exciting that we are back at home. We've had a taste of victory in the conference and we've also had our share of losses. We're excited about the challenge. When we got back from Southern Miss, we had to kind of go back to the drawing board to try to get ready for this challenge tomorrow night."
On what she hopes to accomplish in the team's upcoming four-game homestand...
"We really want to get better each time out. Hopefully that will equate to some wins for us. There are so many areas that we are trying to get better at and what we're trying to do is really put all of those things together in one game. We seem to improve in one area and then go backwards in another area. What we want to do these next four games is really try to put 40 minutes together on both the offensive and defensive ends and see what happens."
On the importance of trying to avoid a slow start like in the team's last two games...
"It's tough when you fall in a hole like that because you put so much pressure on your half-court offense, and that's what happened to us at Southern Miss. At Southern Miss, we just weren't really aggressive. That was kind of a tale of two games. In the Rice game, we played pretty aggressively throughout. In the Southern Miss game, for whatever reason, we kind of lost our aggressiveness. We've got to come out and know that teams are going to make runs. It's a game of runs, but we've got to answer. We have to do a better job of getting the ball up the court in transition and making defensive stops."
On combating Marshall guard Casey Baker, who leads Conference USA in steals...
"You have to take care of the ball. We have tried to simulate that the best that we could in these last few days of practice. Baker's hands are extremely quick, but all of their guards, including [Kizzy] Hart, do a great job defensively. Marshall is one of the top defensive teams in the conference and we have talked a lot about taking care of the ball. I expect for us to do a much better job of taking care of the ball and being sure with the ball on Thursday night."
On the importance of the team's bench play in the team's last three games...
"It has been huge. We finally have a true rotation with Jackie Akers back playing. It gives us a big boost with Emma Cannon coming off the bench. With Angelica Mealing and Jelisa Caldwell coming off the bench for us, there's not really a whole lot of let-up. It gives us another post player - another presence in the paint - and Emma has done a good job in that role."