Jan. 24, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - In its first televised game of the season, the UCF women's basketball team will be in for a tough test going on the road to play Houston at 3 p.m. eastern time Sunday. The host Cougars are a perfect 8-0 in front of their home crowd this season, including 2-0 in Conference USA play, but the visiting Knights are 4-1 in C-USA and in a first-place tie atop the league standings.
The contest will be televised by CBS College Sports Network, with the coverage also being broadcast locally on Bright House Sports Network.
CBS College Sports Network is channel 106 on Bright House Networks in the Orlando area, as well as channel 613 on DirecTV and channel 152 on Dish Network/Echostar. Bright House Sports Network is a 24-hour local sports network available in central Florida on Bright House Networks digital cable channel 47.
Greg Lucas will serve as the play-by-play announcer for the contest while Lisa Malosky will handle the color analyst duties.
The game will be a matchup of two of the league's youngest teams as each of the game's starters will likely be underclassmen. The teams have started an upperclassman a combined three times all season.
The Knights have rattled off four wins in five league games to vault to the top of the standings in a five-way tie for first. UCF returned home in convincing fashion on Thursday, building a 21-point halftime lead with an early 17-2 spurt and cruising to a 77-52 win over visiting Rice. Sophomore Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) led the Knights with 19 points while fellow sophomore Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) had 15 points and 17 rebounds.
Cannon continues to lead UCF in scoring at 15.1 points per game, and her strong effort on the glass put her third in the league in rebounding at 10.4 per clip. Wiley has scored in double figures in 10-straight and is averaging 12.8 points per game.
Houston fell out of a tie atop the league standings with a 74-65 loss Thursday at Southern Miss and will look to pull even with UCF with a victory. Junior Ashlee Joseph came off the bench to lead the Cougars with 16 points in the game.
KNIGHTS NOTES
? INSIDE THE SERIES: The teams have met just three times, with Houston winning two of the contests. UCF's lone win came in Orlando on Feb. 9, 2007 by a score of 78-73. The Cougars took last season meeting in Orlando 74-61 on Jan. 17, 2008. UH also won the only game previously played in Houston, 64-50, on Jan. 6, 2006.
? AHEAD OF THE PAST: With its 77-52 win over Rice Thursday, UCF surpassed its conference win total from each of the previous two seasons. With its best start since joining the league in 2005-06, UCF is just one win away from tying the mark for most wins in C-USA play.
? RECORD MARGIN: The 25-point margin of victory over Rice was UCF's largest win in a conference game since joining C-USA. The previous mark was also against Rice, a 68-49 victory in Houston a season ago.
? AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: Cannon is currently ranked in the top-30 nationally in a couple of major statistical categories. She is 14th nationally in rebounds per game and is also 29th in the country in field goal percentage, according to the latest NCAA statistics.
? WHAT LEARNING CURVE?: Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.) has not shown any signs of being a freshman in C-USA play. She has notched double figures in each of the team's five league games, averaging 12.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.0 steals.
? PLAYING THE BEST: UCF's strength of schedule currently ranks 26th nationally, according to The College Basketball News women's basketball RPI ratings. The Knights' schedule ranked as the eighth-toughest nationally after non-conference play.
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.