Feb. 28, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (www.ucfathletics.com) - UAB connected on 11 three-pointers Thursday and UCF's valiant late-game rally came up just short, as the Knights dropped a 68-63 decision to the Blazers in Bartow Arena.
The Knights (9-19, 2-13 Conference USA), who trailed 60-46 with 4:43 remaining, put together a 17-6 to come within three points, 66-63, with 33 ticks left on the clock after a three-pointer by freshman guard Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.). After freshman guard D'Nay Daniels (Atlanta) missed a three-pointer, UCF was forced to foul and the Blazers' (14-14, 10-5 C-USA) Christon Ingram connected on both free throws to make the final margin.
"We had a good opportunity to win this game tonight," UCF head coach Joi Williams said. "I am really proud of the way our team fought back. They showed great effort in the second half and that is the way we are going to play from this point forward. We had a lot of shots there at the end, we just couldn't get them to fall."
Daniels and White led the way for the Knights, each scoring a team-high 16 points. White knocked down two three pointers and went 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Freshman guard Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) added nine points and extended her consecutive free-throws made streak to 13 straight charity shots dating back to the team's Feb. 17 game at East Carolina. Wiley also came up with a career-high four steals in the game.
Freshman forward/center Tia Lewis (Poulan, Ga.), who entered the game as the nation's fifth-leading rebounder, brought down a career-high 17 rebounds to increase her season total to 322 boards. That moved her up to second place all-time on the school's single-season rebounds list and she needs just four more boards to break UCF's all-time single-season rebounding mark.
"Tia is a fantastic rebounder," Williams said. "She just has natural rebounding instincts. She had 17 rebounds tonight and gave a great effort on the boards tonight."
The Knights shot 34.8 percent (24-of-69) from the floor, while UAB connected on 42.1 percent (24-of-57) of its shots. The Blazers made 11-of-26 shots from long range, including a 4-for-4 effort from reserve guard Amanda Peterson.
The two teams battled evenly for the first six minutes of the game before UAB, which held a 10-9 advantage, went on a 10-2 run that was capped off by two three-pointers from Peterson. That run extended UAB's lead to 20-11 at the 7:45 mark of the opening period. After both squads began trading baskets, the Knights started to work their way back into the game after back-to-back hoops by Akers brought UCF to within eight, 27-19, with 3:04 left in the half heading into a UAB timeout. The Blazers, however, closed the half out on a 6-0 run to take a 33-19 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
UAB benefitted from potent three-point shooting in the opening period as Peterson went 4-of-4 from beyond the arc and, as a team, made six three-pointers in the first half. The Knights were limited to just 26.5 percent (9-of-34) shooting from the field during the first 20 minutes.
UCF stormed out of the locker room on a 14-3 run to cut within three, 36-33, and force UAB head coach Audra Smith to burn a timeout at the 15:39 mark of the game. Blazers' standout Crystal McFadden picked up three early fouls in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half to confine her to the bench for the early part of the final period. UAB, however, pushed its lead back to 12, 45-33, with 12:53 remaining thanks to a pair of three-pointers by Britney Jones and Diamond Rogers.
The Knights responded with a 7-0 run of their own that included five points from White and brought UCF within five, 45-40. The Blazers then returned to their long-range game to extend their advantage to 60-46 at the 4:43 mark and force Williams to burn a timeout. From there, the Knights began employing a full-court defense that allowed them to run off five straight points, all by Daniels, to cut within nine, 60-51, with 3:14 left. UCF scored five of the game's next eight points and cut to 63-56 after a basket by freshman forward Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) at the 2:04 mark.
Freshman guard Jelisa Caldwell (Macon, Ga.) knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing with 1:12 left to cut the Knights' deficit to five, 64-59. After a steal at the other end of the floor, White was fouled going to the basket and made one of two free throws to make it a four-point game with 44.1 seconds remaining. UAB's Jones made two free throws on the opposite end, but White raced down and knocked down a three to make it a one-possession game with 32.6 seconds left. After Daniels missed a three-pointer for the Knights, UCF was forced to foul Christon Ingram, who made both free throws to push the Blazers' advantage back out to five, 68-63.
"We started the second half really getting up and down the floor," Williams said. "We said at halftime that we needed to be aggressive because we didn't feel like we were as aggressive as we needed to be in the first half. Our defense really turned it on in the second half tonight."
UAB was led by Jones' game-high 19 points, while McFadden and Peterson followed with 12 points each.
UCF closes out its 2007-08 regular season on Saturday when it travels to The River City to face Memphis. Tip-off in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse is slated for 3 p.m. EST and the game will be carried live on UCFAthletics.com with Scott Adams.
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.