Nov. 22, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF (1-2) built a 10-point lead in the first half Saturday night, but visiting Florida Atlantic (1-2) rallied to claim the lead midway through the second half and held on for a 68-63 victory in non-conference women's basketball action at UCF Arena.
Sophomore Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) off the bench to score a team-high 18 points for UCF, who was attempting to post home wins on back-to-back nights after a 71-69 win Friday against Florida A&M. Fellow sophomore Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) posted her third-straight double-double to start the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The Knights came out on fire and used a Leah Paige (Atlanta, Ga.) bucket for a 7-3 lead at the first media timeout. After the Owls closed to 9-7, UCF rattled off a 12-5 run capped by a Cannon layup to lead 22-12 with 7:51 remaining.
With the hosts threatening to pull away, FAU responded with a 7-1 run to get back into the game, and used a pair of Jessica Knurick free throws with 17 seconds left to close to 28-25 at the break.
The Knights held the Owls to just 28.1 percent shooting and held a 28-16 advantage on the boards in the opening 20 minutes, but committed 14 turnovers that led to 10 FAU points and kept the visitors close.
UCF got baskets from junior Marcquitta Head and Cannon inside early in the second half, but FAU refused to go away and took its first lead at 36-35 with 15:22 remaining.
The two teams played fairly evenly the rest of the way, with the score tied seven times in the final 15 minutes, but UCF never led again in the game.
The last tie came with 3:39 remaining when Wiley sank a pair of free throws to knot the score at 59-59. Wiley, who came in just 2-for-8 at the line, knocked down all of 10 of her free throws and scored 14 second half points.
FAU's Jaimie Givens scored back-to-back baskets to put her team up 63-59, and the Owls closed the game on a 9-4 run for the final margin.
For the game, UCF struggled to 20-for-61 (32.8%) shooting, including just 27.6 percent in the second half. The Knights held an edge on the boards once again, outrebounding the Owls 45-31.
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Newspaper Box Score
FAU vs UCF
11/22/08 5 p.m. at Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
At Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
FAU 68, UCF 63
FAU (1-2)
Stubbs, Carla 8-13 4-6 21; Bowe, Brittany 5-9 5-6 15; Givens, Jaimie 5-9 2-3 12; Lambert, Candace 2-7 4-4 9; Knurick, Jessica 1-5 5-6 7; Taylor, Andrea 0-2 2-2 2; Thompson, Mercedes 1-1 0-0 2; Turner, Breana 0-3 0-0 0; Stamps, Teri 0-1 0-0 0; Caldwell, Erica 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 22-27 68.
UCF (1-2)
Wiley, Chelsie 4-14 10-10 18; Cannon, Emma 4-11 7-8 15; White, Marshay 5-11 0-0 11; Head, Marcquitta 2-5 4-6 8; Patrick, Aisha 2-8 0-0 4; Daniels, D'Nay 2-7 0-0 4; Paige, Leah 1-1 0-0 2; Kelly, Ashia 0-1 1-2 1; Mealing, Angelica 0-1 0-0 0; Caldwell, Jelisa 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-61 22-26 63.
FAU........................... 25 43 - 68
UCF........................... 28 35 - 63
3-point goals--FAU 2-10 (Stubbs, Carla 1-2; Lambert, Candace 1-1; Givens, Jaimie 0-1; Stamps, Teri 0-1; Caldwell, Erica 0-1; Bowe, Brittany 0-4), UCF 1-6 (White, Marshay 1-2; Patrick, Aisha 0-1; Daniels, D'Nay 0-1; MEALING, Angelica 0-1; Wiley, Chelsie 0-1). Fouled out--FAU-None, UCF-None. Rebounds--FAU 31 (Stubbs, Carla 8), UCF 45 (Cannon, Emma 10). Assists--FAU 13 (Bowe, Brittany 6), UCF 8 (Wiley, Chelsie 3; Patrick, Aisha 3). Total fouls--FAU 18, UCF 20. Technical fouls--FAU-None, UCF-None. A-778
Notes
- The FAU win snapped a six-game winning streak for UCF in the series. The Knights lead the all-time series 20-7.
- After splitting the weekend's games, UCF is 191-164 all-time against schools from the Sunshine State. The Knights have played against 25 different colleges and universities against Florida.
- Sophomore Emma Cannon posted her third-straight double double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Her 10th rebound came with under a minute to play. Cannon now has 14 double doubles in her career.
- UCF knocked down 22-for-27 from the free-throw line on the night. - Finishing right on its average, UCF had 25 offensive rebounds in the game. The Knights have 75 in the first three games of the season.
- Wiley's point total was just one shy of her career high. The sophomore hit 10 free throws for the first time in her career.