Dec. 19, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Angelica Mealing scored a career-high 19 points and sank a three-pointer to send the game into overtime for UCF (2-9), but visiting Wake Forest (9-0) knocked down eight-of-10 free throws in the extra session to escape with an 82-75 victory Friday night in the opener of the UCF Women's Basketball Holiday Classic.
"I am very pleased with our effort," said head coach Joi Williams. "It is disappointing that we came up short, but I thought that we got a lot better tonight. We grew in a lot of areas and we showed a lot of discipline, especially in the second half. We only had five turnovers in the second half, and that shows a lot of growth."
The Knights found themselves down by three points after a Corrine Groves' free throw with 28 seconds left in the second half, but worked the ball around the perimeter before sophomore Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) found Mealing on the right side. The southpaw drained the triple to tie the game with 17 ticks remaining. Wake could not answer on its final possession as the game went into overtime.
Mealing's career high included 5-for-8 from the field and a 7-for-8 effort from the free throw line. She also chipped in five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
"Coach always says 'you have to have players that shoot with confidence towards the end of the game,'" said Mealing. "Nobody was there and I shot it with confidence. It is something that you have to do especially in those types of situations."
A steal and a fastbreak layup by freshman Ashia Kelly (Kilgore, Texas) gave UCF the first basket of the extra session. The undefeated Demon Deacons responded with a 10-0 run, including five free throws, to pull ahead by eight before holding on for the victory.
Kelly, who had scored just six points combined this season, came off the bench to score 10 points after halftime for the Knights.
The Demon Deacons closed the first half on a 13-4 run to lead 36-29 at the break and withstood four ties in the second half before finally relinquishing the lead on a pair of Kelly free throws with 5:09 left in regulation.
Kelly and Courteney Morris traded threes on the team's next two possessions as UCF led 64-63 with 3:46 on the clock. A triple by Orlando native Brittany Waters and the Groves' free throw preceded the game-tying Mealing three.
Waters, a product of Edgewater High School, scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Demon Deacons. Senior Alex Tchangoue, who came in averaging nearly 16 points a night, was held to just 10 by the UCF defense. Freshman Secily Ray chipped in 15 points off the Wake bench.
Wake Forest led by as many as eight points in the first half, including 9-3 to open the game. Waters and UCF's Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) both had nine points in the period.
Cannon finished the game with 18 points and 16 rebounds for UCF, who held a slight 44-42 edge on the glass.
Wake Forest, who was receiving votes in the latest top 25 poll, came into the game outscoring its opponents by 28 points and forcing nearly 30 turnovers per contest. UCF finished with 18 turnovers, with just eight coming after intermission.
"We showed that we could compete with them, and I think that gives us a lot of confidence going against another team tomorrow in Ole Miss," said Williams. "They are very aggressive on defense. and we are going to see basically the same type of team [we saw tonight]."
UCF concludes a stretch of three consecutive games Saturday at 5 p.m., hosting Ole Miss in the second game of the UCF Holiday Classic.
Season tickets for the UCF women's basketball program are currently on sale through the UCF ticket sales office. For more information about the arena's premium seating options, including club seats, group discounts, courtside tables and suites, contact the UCF ticket sales office at (407) UCF-1000 or visit the women's basketball ticket page at UCFAthletics.cstv.com/tickets/w-baskbl-tickets.html.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
Newspaper Box Score
Wake Forest vs UCF 12/19/08 7 p.m. at Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena) At Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
WAKE FOREST 82, UCF 75
WAKE FOREST (9-0)
Brittany Waters 4-10 11-14 21; Secily Ray 4-6 6-8 15; Corinne Groves 6-13 1-2 13; Alex Tchangoue 4-8 1-2 10; Camille Collier 2-6 2-2 7; Courteney Morris 1-5 2-2 5; Sarah Riddle 2-2 0-1 4; Tiffany Roulhac 2-6 0-0 4; Brooke Thomas 1-7 1-1 3; Jessie Cain 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-63 24-32 82.
UCF (2-9)
Mealing, Angelica 5-8 7-8 19; Cannon, Emma 6-11 6-7 18; Wiley, Chelsie 3-12 3-5 12; Kelly, Ashia 2-3 5-6 10; Daniels, D'Nay 3-4 1-2 7; Kirkpatrick, Amber 2-14 1-2 5; Patrick, Aisha 2-10 0-0 4; Paige, Leah 0-0 0-0 0; White, Marshay 0-3 0-0 0; Davis, Racine 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-65 23-30 75.
Wake Forest......................... 35 34 13 - 82
UCF................................. 29 40 6 - 75
3-point goals--Wake Forest 6-20 (Brittany Waters 2-4; Courteney Morris 1-2; Alex Tchangoue 1-4; Camille Collier 1-5; Secily Ray 1-2; Brooke Thomas 0-2; Tiffany Roulhac 0-1), UCF 6-13 (Wiley, Chelsie 3-5; Mealing, Angelica 2-2; Kelly, Ashia 1-1; Kirkpatrick, Amber 0-5). Fouled out--Wake Forest-None, UCF-MEALING, Angelica. Rebounds--Wake Forest 42 (Corinne Groves 9), UCF 44 (Cannon, Emma 16). Assists--Wake Forest 16 (Tiffany Roulhac 7), UCF 10 (Patrick, Aisha 4). Total fouls--Wake Forest 22, UCF 23. Technical fouls--Wake Forest-None, UCF-None. A-742
Notes
- The Knights' leading scorer Angelica Mealing set her career high against Wake Forest with 19 points. Mealing scored 17 points against Coppin State last November at the UCF Arena.
- With six three-point field goals against Wake Forest, UCF set its season high in three-point field goals made shooting 46.2% in the contest.
- Emma Cannon recorded her sixth double-double of the season scoring 18 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. The 16 boards was one shy from her career high.
- Aisha Kelly recorded 10 points, which is her career high. Prior to the game, Kelly had six points on the season.
- The Wake Forest victory gives them a 3-2 lead in the all-time series. It was the first time that the Demon Deacons defeated the Knights in Orlando.