Jan. 5, 2008
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Despite getting 17 points and 15 rebounds from Tia Lewis (Poulan, Ga.), the UCF women's basketball team fell to Southern Miss, 71-54, in its Conference USA opener at the new UCF Arena Saturday night. Lewis' double-double performance was her ninth this season.
With the loss, UCF falls to 7-7 on the season and 0-1 in league play. Southern Miss improved its record to 10-4 on the year and 1-0 in C-USA.
The Knights shot 31.7 percent from the floor and 73.7 percent from the free throw line in the contest, while the Golden Eagles shot 44.8 percent from the field and 80 percent from the charity stripe.
UCF entered the locker room at half-time down by only two points, 33-31, courtesy of 11 points and 10 rebounds from Lewis and eight points from Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) in the opening period.
The second half opened with a UCF foul and Southern Miss took advantage, going on a 24-7 run to go up 57-38 at the 7:18 mark. The Knights answered back with an 8-2 run with 5:30 to play, but came up just short in the end.
Besides registering her ninth double-double of the season, Lewis had three blocks and played all 40 minutes for UCF.
The Black and Gold had two additional players record double digits in points with Wiley scoring 14 for the second-straight game, and D'Nay Daniels (Atlanta, Ga.) adding 11.
Southern Miss was led by Pauline Love, who had 23 points and 19 rebounds in the contest.
The Knights continue their C-USA schedule on the road Jan. 11 and 13, when they travel to SMU and Tulsa. Friday's contest against the Mustangs is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET, while Sunday's contest against the Golden Hurricane is set to begin at 3 p.m. ET.
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 pics.
-UCF-