Dec. 20, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Sophomore Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) tied a school record with eight three-pointers and led all scorers with 31 points, but visiting Ole Miss (8-3) drained 11 threes en route to an 85-67 victory Saturday evening in women's basketball action of the UCF Holiday Classic.
Wiley knocked down 8-of-9 from long range to lead UCF's 10-for-15 effort from three and help her to a career-high point total. The eight three-pointers tied a school record accomplished twice previously by Francine Houston, and Wiley's three-point percentage broke the school record, also previously held by Houston.
"Chelsie [Wiley] was a huge bright spot. I thought she played consistently all three home games this week," said UCF head coach Joi Williams. She made a great effort on both sides of the floor. I get into her pretty good sometimes at practice, but she is someone that can take that coaching and really go out and do what you ask her to do."
UCF came out of the halftime break with a one-point edge, but Ole Miss quickly took its first lead of the night at the 17:07 mark on a Bianca Thomas three. Emma Cannon's (Rochester, N.Y.) three-point play immediately put the Knights back in front, but Thomas then started an 8-0 run to give Ole Miss a 48-41 lead.
After Ole Miss extended its lead to as many as 10, Wiley's sixth three cut the lead to seven with under seven minutes on the clock, but the Rebels rattled off a 12-0 run to increase the margin to 79-60, its biggest lead of the night, with 2:54 remaining. The Knights had 26 turnovers in the contest.
"I was disappointed with the way that we took care of the ball," said Williams. "I thought that after last night having five turnovers in the second half, that we would come out and carry that into this game as far as taking care of the ball. We did not do that and I think that hurt us a lot."
While Wiley was knocking down threes for UCF, the Rebels as a team were scorching as well, hitting 11-for-17 on the night, including 6-of-9 in the decisive second half. Thomas and teammate Elizabeth Robertson each canned four threes apiece and finished with 18 and 14 points respectively. Shawn Goff added 14 points for Ole Miss, who had five players reach double figures.
The Knights did not trail in the opening half after knocking down their first seven attempts from long range, including five from Wiley. Sophomore Jasmine Stovall (Lawrenceville, Ga.) canned the last of the triples to start a 6-0 run and give UCF a 29-21 lead.
The Rebels closed to within one late in the first half, and UCF led 35-33 at the break. Both teams shot it extremely well in the opening 20 minutes, with the Knights hitting 10-for-22 overall and 7-of-9 from long range and Ole Miss hitting 14-for-31 from the field and 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Cannon grabbed a season-low four rebounds, but the Knights' leading scorer scored 12 of her 15 points in the second half to join Wiley in double figures.
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
Ole Miss vs UCF 12/20/08 5:00 p.m. at Orlando, Fla. At Orlando, Fla.
OLE MISS 85, UCF 67
OLE MISS (8-3)
THOMAS, Bianca 5-10 4-4 18; MELSON, Kayla 6-10 1-1 14; GOFF, Shawn 6-13 2-2 14; ROBERTSON, Elizabeth 4-4 0-0 12; EASLEY, Alliesha 4-11 2-2 12; BLACK, Shantell 3-6 3-6 9; BYRD, Nikki 3-5 0-0 6; LEWIS, Katorra 0-0 0-0 0; HAMETH, Whitney 0-0 0-0 0; LAWS, LaTosha 0-0 0-0 0; HOLLOWAY, Kayla 0-1 0-0 0; PHILLIPS, LaKendra 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-60 12-15 85.
UCF (2-10)
Wiley, Chelsie 10-16 3-4 31; Cannon, Emma 5-8 5-7 15; Patrick, Aisha 3-5 2-2 8; Kirkpatrick, Amber 1-7 2-4 5; Stovall, Jasmine 1-1 0-0 3; Mealing, Angelica 0-7 2-4 2; Paige, Leah 1-1 0-0 2; Daniels, D'Nay 0-3 1-3 1; White, Marshay 0-1 0-0 0; Caldwell, Jelisa 0-1 0-0 0; Davis, Racine 0-0 0-0 0; Kelly, Ashia 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-50 15-24 67.
Ole Miss........................ 33 52 - 85
UCF............................. 35 32 - 67
3-point goals--Ole Miss 11-17 (THOMAS, Bianca 4-6; ROBERTSON, Elizabeth 4-4; EASLEY, Alliesha 2-5; MELSON, Kayla 1-1; BLACK, Shantell 0-1), UCF 10-15 (Wiley, Chelsie 8-9; Stovall, Jasmine 1-1; Kirkpatrick, Amber 1-2; Mealing, Angelica 0-2; Daniels, D'Nay 0-1). Fouled Out--Ole Miss-MELSON, Kayla, UCF-None. Rebounds--Ole Miss 35 (ROBERTSON, Elizabeth 6), UCF 29 (Kirkpatrick, Amber 6). Assists--Ole Miss 18 (BLACK, Shantell 4; THOMAS, Bianca 4), UCF 17 (Mealing, Angelica 5; Patrick, Aisha 5). Total fouls--Ole Miss 21, UCF 15. Technical fouls--Ole Miss-None, UCF-None. A-715