April 22, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF women's basketball team, coming off a season of firsts under first-year head coach Joi Williams, will participate in the prestigious ninth-annual Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands November 27-29, 2008.
The three-day tournament, which is hosted by the University of the Virgin Islands at the Sports and Fitness Center in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, includes a number of accomplished teams in its 2008 field. Baylor, the 2005 NCAA Champion, California, Iowa, Texas Tech, Villanova, USF and Wisconsin comprise the squads taking part in the 2008 edition of the tournament.
The eight-team tournament field will be broken down into two brackets - the St. John's Bracket and the St. Thomas Bracket. Teams play within their own brackets on the opening two days with a championship round scheduled for the final day of competition. The pairings will be announced later this summer.
"I am very excited about the opportunity to compete in the Paradise Jam," Williams said. "This will not only give our team the chance to compete against some of the best teams in the country, it also gives our players an opportunity to travel to a place that they might not otherwise be able to go to. Our goal in scheduling non-conference games is to prepare ourselves the best we can for Conference USA play. This tournament will definitely give us a good indication of the things we will need to work on to be ready for the conference season."
Over the years, the Paradise Jam has featured some of the best teams of any pre-conference tournament in Division I basketball. The event began in 2000, when Southwest Missouri State used its stage to break onto the national scene and begin its NCAA Tournament Cinderella run, led by what is still a Paradise Jam record 42 points in a single game by Jackie Stiles against LSU.
It marks the second time in three years that the Knights will play off the main continent, as UCF was part of the tournament field of the 2006 Junkanoo Jam contested in Freeport, Bahamas.
Tournament ticket passes will be available for advance purchase beginning September 2 at www.paradisejam.com.
The complete 2008-09 UCF women's basketball schedule will be released later in the summer.
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.