Feb. 7, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Freshman UCF forward Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) scored a career-high 24 points Thursday, but UAB shot 61 percent in the second half and took an 85-67 win against the Knights in the New UCF Arena.
Cannon, who entered the game ranking fourth in the NCAA in double-doubles by a freshman, notched her 10th double-dip of the season with 11 rebounds to complement her personal-best 24 points. She connected on 9-of-13 shots from the floor and went 6-of-8 from the free-throw line in just 28 minutes of action.
The Blazers (11-11, 7-2 Conference USA), who led by just four (36-32) at intermission, connected on 60.7 (17-of-28) percent of their shots from the floor in the final period to defeat the Knights (8-14, 1-8 C-USA). UCF, which committed its third-fewest turnovers (16) of the season, won the rebound battle 43-36.
"The story of the game was defense," UCF head coach Joi Williams said. "If you look at the second half in field-goal percentage defense, we gave up 61 percent, and you can't win games like that. But, we did some really good things tonight. We really tightened up on our turnovers - 16 is our third-lowest total of the season, we had 17 offensive rebounds and did a great job on the boards tonight. We shot 80 percent from the free-throw line and had almost 20 more attempts from the floor than they did, so everything was right there."
Freshman forward/center Tia Lewis (Poulan, Ga.), the nation's leader in double-doubles by a freshman, charted her 14th double-dip of the year with 10 points and 15 rebounds. Lewis, who ranks tied for second in the NCAA in rebounds per game, led the Knights on the boards for the 16th time this season. Cannon and Lewis teamed up to each record double-doubles in the same game for the seventh time this season and the second time in the team's last three games.
"Emma was just a monster on the boards tonight, both offensively and defensively," Williams said. "She did a great job and finished shots. Something we have really focused on with her is finishing shots in the paint and she did that tonight."
Freshman guard Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.) scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game and the 12th time this season with 15 points. She also brought down five rebounds and was one assist shy of her career high with seven dishes. White also notched her team-leading fifth three-plus steal game of the year by finishing with three swipes in the game. Freshman guard D'Nay Daniels (Atlanta) finished with eight points in 17 minutes of action.
The two teams battled closely in a first half that included four ties and seven lead changes. Back-to-back baskets by Cannon and Daniels gave UCF a 14-11 advantage with 12:59 remaining in the opening period that forced UAB coach Audra Smith to burn an early timeout. The Blazers then went on a 5-0 run after the Knights went cold from the floor, missing each of their next four shots.
That allowed UAB to take a 16-14 lead with 11:09 left until halftime. The teams began trading baskets until three consecutive hoops by UCF's Lewis, White and Cannon put it ahead 28-25 with 4:47 remaining in the period. Both squads again traded baskets for the remainder of the half as the Blazers took a 36-32 advantage into the locker room at intermission.
The Knights shot 42.4 percent (14-of-33) from the floor in the opening period, while allowing UAB to connect on 46.7 percent (14-of-30) of its shots in the first half. UCF scored all but one basket - a jumper by Lewis at the 8:36 mark - in the paint, as it out-scored the Blazers 26-18 in points in the paint in the game's first period.
UCF cut its deficit to one, 39-38, just two minutes into the second half, but UAB used an 8-0 run over the next 1:10 to extend its advantage to 47-38 and force Williams to burn a timeout at the 16:34 mark. With the Knights trailing 49-40, Cannon connected on a three-point play and Jelisa Caldwell (Macon, Ga.) made a fast-break lay-up to whittle the UCF deficit down to four, 49-45, with 14:49 remaining in the game.
The Blazers responded with a 14-3 run that gave them a 63-48 advantage and put the game out of reach. The Knights came as close as 10 points, 75-65, with 3:20 remaining, but UAB was able to quickly extend its lead back to 16, 81-65, with 1:14 left.
Senior guard/forward Diamond Rogers led UAB with a game-high 25 points, including a perfect 6-for-6 mark from the free-throw line, and 10 rebounds. Fellow guard Crystal McFadden added 17 points, as four Blazers scored in double figures on Thursday.
"We came out and started the game pretty aggressively," Williams said. "I was very proud of the way we started the game. We talked all week about UAB and Diamond Rogers and the rest of those kids, and how aggressive they play. We knew that Rogers was very good and that we would have to try to contain her. We came out in the second half and tied the game up, and then we kind of had a let-down. Defensively is where we broke down, and they kind of took advantage of that, especially Rogers."
UCF returns to action Saturday when it plays host to Memphis. Tip-off in the New UCF Arena is slated for 5 p.m. EST and the game will be carried live on UCFAthletics.com with Scott Adams on the call. It is UCF's "Think Pink" game as the Knights are one of 800 teams across the country participating in the initiative to raise breast cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game to support the initiative. UCF also is looking to break the school's all-time attendance record of 1,457 fans on Saturday.
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.