Feb. 26, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF women's basketball team hits the road for its final road trip of the 2007-08 regular season this weekend when it travels to UAB and Memphis. The Knights begin that trip on Thursday when they face the UAB Blazers. Tip-off in Bartow Arena is slated for 8 p.m. EST and the game will be carried live on UCFAthletics.com with Scott Adams.
The Knights (9-18, 2-12 Conference USA) have their most wins in three years with two games remaining in the regular season. UCF knocked off Tulane 77-71 last Friday and hung tough with No. 19/25 UTEP before dropping an 89-74 decision to the Conference USA Champion Miners. The Knights are looking to avenge an 85-67 loss to the Blazers on Feb. 7 at the New UCF Arena.
"We're excited about another opportunity to play UAB," UCF head coach Joi Williams said. "They have one of the best players in the league in Diamond Rogers. We had a rough time with her last time out, so hopefully we can do a little bit better job this time. Really, we're focusing on defense and rebounding in these last two games to finish off the season."
Freshman forward/center Tia Lewis (Poulan, Ga.), the nation's fifth-leading rebounder, leads the Knights with 12.3 points per game and 11.3 rebounds per game. Lewis has 305 rebounds on the season and ranks fourth all-time on the school's all-time single-season rebounds list. She needs three more boards to move into sole possession of third place all-time and just 21 rebounds to break the school's all-time single-season rebound mark. If she were to stay on her current pace of 11.3 rpg, she would break the record at some point this weekend. Lewis is the only UCF player to start each of the team's 27 games this season. She leads Conference USA in rebounding and ranks 15th in scoring.
"It's a great opportunity for Tia," Williams said. "We're not focused on individual records, but it certainly would be a testament to how hard she has worked. Hopefully, she will accomplish that for herself and for our team. She is a fantastic rebounder who has great instincts and she will only continue to get better."
Freshman guard Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.) follows with 11.7 ppg and leads the team with 90 assists on the year, while freshman forward Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) adds 11.4 ppg and 8.7 rpg. Cannon ranks tied for 21st in the league in scoring and fourth in rebounding.
As a team, the Knights rank tied for first in Conference USA in rebound margin with a +4.0 edge on the boards. UCF also is second in the league in rebounding offense, averaging 41.7 boards per game. The Knights have out-rebounded their opponents on 17 occasions this season.
The Knights and Blazers meet for the 11th time in school history, with UAB holding a 9-1 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams have met five times since UCF joined Conference USA, with the Blazers going 5-0 in those contests. The Knights' lone win in the series came on Jan. 19, 1989, in Orlando, Fla., when UCF captured an 89-82 victory.
UAB has lost three of its last five games, but is coming off a 60-48 win at Marshall last Sunday. The Blazers enter Thursday night's game with a 13-14 overall record and a 9-5 mark in conference play. UAB has played the toughest non-conference schedule in Conference USA this season, according to strength of schedule reports, competing against national powers Illinois, Ole Miss, Texas and Vanderbilt, among others, in their pre-C-USA slate.
"I think their schedule has helped them tremendously," Williams said. "They took some losses early to some strong teams and I think that really prepared them for Conference USA. It prepared them to be successful when it came down to close games."
Senior guard Diamond Rogers, who this season joined the school's 1,000-point club, is Conference USA's leading scorer, averaging 17.4 ppg. She also brings down a squad-best 8.5 rpg, which ranks sixth in the league. Fellow back-court senior Crystal McFadden follows in the scoring column with 13.6 ppg, while junior guard Britney Jones chips in 11.7 ppg.
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
- The Knights and Blazers meet for the 11th time in school history, with UAB holding a 9-1 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams have met five times since UCF joined Conference USA, with the Blazers going 5-0 in those contests. The Knights' lone win in the series came on Jan. 19, 1989, in Orlando, Fla., when UCF captured an 89-82 victory.
- With nine wins on the season, UCF has now bested its win total from each of the previous two seasons with three regular-season games remaining in the 2007-08 campaign.
- As a team, UCF ranks tied for first in Conference USA in rebound margin with a +4.0 edge on the boards. The Knights have out-rebounded their opponents in 17 games this season. They are also second in the conference in rebounding offense with 41.7 boards per game.
- UCF has held 24 of its 27 opponents this season to 50 percent shooting or less, including 15 of its last 17.
- The Knights have played at least two players in double-figure scoring in every game this season. Three or more UCF players have scored in double figures on 22 occasions this year, including a season-best six Knights in double digits last Friday vs. Tulane.
- The Knights lead Conference USA in double-doubles by a team with 25. Tia Lewis has notched a squad-best 14 double-dips on the year, while Emma Cannon has accomplished the feat 11 times this season.
- Freshman forward/center Tia Lewis is the only player to start in each of the team's 27 games this season.
- Lewis has charted seven or more rebounds in each of the team's 27 games this year.
Pre-Game Quotes - UCF Head Coach Joi Williams
"We're excited about another opportunity to play UAB. They have one of the best players in the league in Diamond Rogers. We had a rough time with her last time out, so hopefully we can do a little bit better job this time. Really, we're focusing on defense and rebounding to finish off the season."
On how UAB playing the toughest non-conference schedule in the conference has helped in C-USA play...
"I think it has helped them tremendously. They took some losses early to some strong teams and I think that really prepared them for Conference USA. It prepared them to be successful when it came down to close games."
On what she takes from the team's performances this past weekend vs. Tulane and No. 19/25 UTEP...
"I think confidence is what we take from this weekend, even though we didn't come out with a win on Sunday. I thought we gained a little bit of confidence because we came back and really did some good things. We just have to be able to put it all together, and that's what we're hoping to do in these next couple of games."
On Tia Lewis having the opportunity to break the school's single-season rebound record this weekend...
"It's a great opportunity for Tia. We're not focused on individual records, but it certainly would be a testament to how hard she has worked. Hopefully, she will accomplish that for herself and for our team. She is a fantastic rebounder who has great instincts and I think she will only continue to get better."