Feb. 15, 2008
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Five UCF women's basketball players scored in double figures Friday, but Marshall made 26-of-35 free-throws and out-rebounded the Knights 45-38 to take a 71-64 win in the Cam Henderson Center.
The Knights (8-16, 1-10 Conference USA) were led by freshman guard Marshay White's (Rochester, N.Y.) team-high 15 points, while freshman guard Angelica Mealing (Decatur, Ga.) and freshman forward/center Tia Lewis (Poulan, Ga.) each added 12 points. Freshman forward Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) notched her 11th double-double of the season with 11 points and a squad-best 10 boards.
"We came out with a lot of defensive energy to start the second half," UCF head coach Joi Williams said. "We just hit a little bit of a lull in the second half and we couldn't really recover from that. It was a hard-fought game and I'm really proud of our basketball team. I think we took a real step forward tonight."
Marshall shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the floor in the game, connecting on 74.3 percent (26-of-35) from the free-throw line to put the game away. The Thundering Herd were led by Kizzy Hart's game-high 25 points. The Knights shot 34.7 percent (26-of-75) from the field.
The Knights committed just 12 turnovers in the game, marking their season low in miscues. Trailing by four, 37-33, at halftime, UCF made a valiant comeback to claim the lead at 40-38, but a 17-6 run by Marshall late in the game allowed it to notch the win.
"We did a good job of taking care of the ball tonight," Williams said. "We just have to learn to put it all together. But, our players are gaining good experience and learning new things every day."
After a slow offensive start by both teams, Marshall broke out to a 9-6 advantage at the 15:07 mark of the opening period. The Knights rallied to come within one at 13-12 after a 6-3 run that was capped off by a Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) basket with 12:59 remaining in the first half.
The Thundering Herd then held UCF scoreless for the next three minutes, extending the Marshall advantage to 21-12 after an 8-0 run. UCF cut within four, 23-19, after a 7-2 run that included three points by Mealing. The Knights hung tough, coming within one, 30-29, after a pair of free throws by Mealing with 2:06 left until intermission, but the Thundering Herd extended their lead back to four, 37-33, at halftime.
Marshall shot a blistering 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from the field in the opening half, but the Knights committed just seven turnovers in the first half.
Cannon and Lewis knocked down back-to-back baskets out of intermission to knot the score at 37-all with 18:32 to go in the game. The Knights extended that run to7-1 after a pair of free-throws by Cannon that gave UCF a 40-38 advantage. The two teams traded baskets before the Thundering Herd capped a 5-0 run with a three-pointer by Hart at the 11:39 mark of the game that put Marshall ahead 47-44 heading into the under-12 media timeout.
With Marshall leading by six, 56-50, with 7:53 to go in the game, the Thundering Herd hit back-to-back baskets to go up by 11, 61-50, with 5:49 remaining. Marshall led by as many as 15 points, 65-50, before the Knights began whittling away at their deficit to come within eight, 65-57, with 2:47 left, but that would be as close as UCF would come.
UCF returns to action Sunday when it travels to Greenville, N.C., to face East Carolina. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be carried live on UCFAthletics.com with Scott Adams on the call.
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.