Feb. 6, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF women's basketball team looks to get back on the winning track on Thursday when it plays host to UAB in the third-game of a four-game homestand. Tip-off at the New UCF Arena is slated for 7 p.m. EST and the game will be carried live on UCFAthletics.com with Scott Adams.
The game is being dubbed as the team's "Go Red" Game, in conjunction with Go Red for Women - the American Heart association's movement empowering women to fight heart disease. All fans are encouraged to wear red to the game to support the Go Red for Women event.
"We're excited about doing this in conjunction with Go Red for Women," UCF head coach Joi Williams said. "When you think about heart disease and how it affects so many women, we're happy to do this. Hopefully, we can get some support to put the word out there and make people aware of the importance of heart-disease prevention."
The Knights (8-13, 1-7 Conference USA) are coming off an 80-66 loss to East Carolina last Saturday. Freshman guard Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.) scored a team-high 20 points, eclipsing the 20-point plateau for the second time in her career. Freshman forward Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) followed in the scoring column with 12 points, adding seven rebounds, while freshman forward/center Tia Lewis (Poulan, Ga.) brought down a squad-best eight rebounds.
Lewis leads the team and ranks 12th in the conference in scoring with 12.8 points per game and is tied for second-place nationally in rebounds with 11.9 boards per game. She is one of only three players in Conference USA to average a double-double. Lewis leads the nation in double-doubles by a freshman and is tied for the conference lead in double-dips with 13 on the year. Cannon follows with 11.2 ppg and 9.3 rpg, while White adds 11.0 ppg.
"UAB is a team that is really playing very well right now," Williams said. "I really believe that they probably played the toughest non-conference schedule in the league. That obviously prepared them for league play. They've got a lot of veteran players in Diamond Rogers, Crystal McFadden and Britney Jones - kids who know how to win. They had great success last year and that has carried over to this season because they are playing very well right now."
UCF leads Conference USA in rebounding margin with a +5.7 edge on the boards this season. The Knights have won the rebound battle in 13 games this season and have held 20 of 21 opponents this year to 50 percent shooting or less.
"What we are trying to impress to these young players is that we have to be consistent with our rebounding every single night," Williams said. "No matter who you play, no matter what their stats are, you have to go to the boards. That is something that we know we do well and we have to continue to do that. Defense and rebounding is what wins games."
The Knights and Blazers meet for the 10th time in school history, with UAB holding an 8-1 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams have met four times since UCF joined Conference USA, with the Blazers going 4-0 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. The two teams last met on Feb. 15, 2007 - a 58-44 win by the Blazers on their home court in Birmingham, Ala.
UAB has won three of its last four games, having dropped an 80-76 decision to Houston at home on Sunday. The Blazers are 10-11 overall and are third in Conference USA with a 6-2 league mark. Senior guard Diamond Rogers is the leading scorer in Conference USA, averaging 18.0 ppg, while also adding a squad-best 8.3 rebounds per game. She became the newest member of the school's 1,000-point club on Sunday. Last week, she averaged 22.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg and 3.0 apg. Fellow back-court senior Crystal McFadden follows in the scoring column with 13.0 ppg and 5.5 rpg, while junior guard Britney Jones chips in 11.3 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
- UCF and UAB meet for the 10th time in school history, with UAB holding an 8-1 advantage in the all-time series. The two teams have met four times since UCF joined Conference USA, with the Blazers going 4-0 in those contests.
- As a team, UCF ranks first in Conference USA in rebound margin with a +5.7 margin on the boards.
- UCF has held 20 of its 21 opponents this season to 50 percent shooting or less, including 11 consecutive.
- The Knights lead Conference USA in double-doubles by a team with 22. Tia Lewis has notched a squad-best 13 double-dips on the year, which ranks her first in the nation in double-doubles by a freshman.
- Through 21 games this season, UCF head coach Joi Williams has used 12 different starting lineups.
- The Knights have received a strong performance from their bench in the past five games. UCF's reserves have out-scored the opponent bench 154-91 during that stretch.
- Freshman forward/center Tia Lewis is the only player to start in each of the team's 21 games this season. Lewis has played 38 or more minutes in six games this season and is averaging 41.5 minutes per game in her last two outings.
- Freshman forward Emma Cannon has brought down seven or more rebounds in 15 games this season.
Pre-Game Quotes - Head Coach Joi Williams
"UAB is a team that is really playing very well right now. I really believe that they probably played the toughest non-conference schedule in the league. That obviously prepared them for league play. They've got a lot of veteran players in Diamond Rogers, Crystal McFadden and Britney Jones - kids who know how to win. They had great success last year that has carried over to this season because they are playing very well right now."
On Thursday's game being part of the Go Red initiative...
"We're excited about doing this in conjunction with Go Red for Women. When you think about heart disease and how it affects so many women, we're happy to do this and, hopefully, we can get some support to put the word out there and make people aware of it."
On getting the team's rebounding effort back on track after being out-rebounded 50-32 on Saturday...
"We talked about that a lot and we watched some tape to look at the breakdowns. I think we just got comfortable. We got to the point where we were doing that pretty good and, all of a sudden, we didn't block out anymore. What we're trying to impress to these young players is that we've got to be consistent every single night, no matter who you play. No matter what their stats are, you have to go to the boards, and that's something that we know we do well and we've got to continue to do that. Defensively, we tried to work hard with transition defense along with our rebounding, because it's tough to get them to get them to understand that defense and rebounding is what wins games."
On guarding against two of the top-10 scorers in the league in UAB's McFadden and Rogers...
"We have great respect for both players. They have done a fantastic job this year. Both are seniors and great leaders for their team. What we have to do is really try to contain them. They're going to score, but we've got to try to limit them a little bit. We have to contain the other people as well. Britney Jones is somebody that we're very concerned about because of her penetration ability. Transition defense is a big key for us, so it has really got to be a team effort. We are really going to try to guard them by committee and see what happens."
On finishing close games down the stretch...
"We continue to try to work on that as best we can and simulate that in practice. We've have to work on finishing, especially when we get fatigued. I think a lot of that is being young and never really playing at this pace and at this level. When that fatigue sets in, they don't really know how to fight through. That's something that we're trying to teach them. It's all part of the growing process and game-by-game, hopefully, we get a little better. We're able to sustain it a little bit longer and, hopefully, tomorrow and Saturday night, we will be better with that, especially when adversity comes and we have to fight through."