Jan. 9, 2009
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UCFAthletics.com) - Sophomore Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) was unstoppable, scoring 34 points and grabbing 20 rebounds as visiting UCF (4-11, 2-0 C-USA) rolled past Memphis (7-8, 0-2 C-USA) 85-67 at Elma Roane Fieldhouse Thursday night in Conference USA women's basketball action. The Knights start 2-0 in conference play for the first time since joining the league.
Cannon had a double-double by halftime with 16 points and 11 and did not let up after the break, adding another 18 points and nine rebounds in the second half. Overall, the sophomore hit 12-of-20 shots from the field and added a 10-for-13 performance from the line in setting career highs in both points and rebounds. She grabbed nine of her boards on the offensive end.
"We challenged Emma all of the non-conference season to finish in the paint," said head coach Joi Williams. "She plays aggressively and I was glad she improved on finishing her shots down low. She was able to stay out of foul trouble, and that is important for us to keep her in the game. I am proud of her, and Emma couldn't have done that by herself so I am proud of our guards for getting her the ball."
After Memphis scored the first bucket of the game and the teams were locked at 6-6 at the 16:39 mark, the Knights used 10 points from Cannon as part of a 17-4 spurt to lead 23-10 with 10:46 remaining and never looked back.
Cannon's third three-point play of the half gave the visitors their biggest lead of the first half, 32-15, with 6:35 on the clock. Memphis closed to 40-29 at the break, but the damage was done as Memphis shot just 32.1 percent, including a 0-for-5 performance from leading scorer Paris Leonard.
After Memphis closed to eight early in the second half, the Knights rattled off a 9-0 run capped by a Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) three-pointer to extend the lead to 56-38 with 13:30 remaining.
"It was kind of new for us to have that kind of lead and try to maintain it," said Williams. "We talked to them at timeouts that we could not relax, and we knew they could score points quickly. We did a good job taking their punch and coming right back at them."
Memphis did not get the deficit below double digits for the remainder of the contest as UCF won back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Knights hit 16-of-29 shots from the field in the second half and finished the game at a season-high 48.4 percent (31-64).
Led by Cannon, the Knights held a 45-34 edge on the glass, including 17 offensive rebounds. For the second-straight game, freshman Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.) scored a career-high 15 points, sophomore Angelica Mealing (Decatur, Ga.) added 13 and Wiley added 10 points.
"I was posting up hard, and even though there was pressure on the guards they found a way to get me the ball," said Cannon. "I found it easy to score tonight, nothing against their defenders, but I had it going and coach realized that early on and she pointed it out to my teammates and they kept feeding me."
Tehani Goldsmith scored 16 points to lead Memphis in scoring, and Leonard scored 15 points, all in the second half. Ashley Thornton scored 11 of her 14 points in the first half.
UCF stays on the road and returns to action on Saturday, traveling to Birmingham, Ala., for a C-USA contest against UAB at 7 p.m. eastern time.
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
UCF vs Memphis
1/8/09 7:06 p.m. at Memphis, Tenn./Elma Roane Fieldhouse
At Memphis, Tenn./Elma Roane Fieldhouse
UCF 85, MEMPHIS 67
UCF (4-11, 2-0 C-USA)
Cannon, Emma 12-20 10-13 34; Patrick, Aisha 7-11 1-2 15; Mealing, Angelica 3-8 4-4 11; Wiley, Chelsie 3-11 1-2 10; Caldwell, Jelisa 2-5 0-1 6; Kirkpatrick, Amber 2-2 0-0 4; White, Marshay 1-3 1-2 3; Paige, Leah 1-1 0-0 2; Kelly, Ashia 0-2 0-0 0; Daniels, D'Nay 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-64 17-24 85.
MEMPHIS (7-8, 0-2 C-USA)
GOLDSMITH, Tehani 5-12 3-4 16; LEONARD, Paris 6-13 1-4 15; THORNTON, Ashley 5-7 3-3 14; SEAGRAVES, Shae 2-4 2-2 7; ELLIS, Savannah 2-3 1-3 5; LONLACK, Ramses 1-4 3-4 5; WINCHELL, Alex 1-11 0-1 3; SIPPIO, Laquawanda 0-0 2-2 2; JACKSON, Jessica 0-2 0-0 0; COPELAND, Shekeira 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 22-57 15-25 67.
UCF........................... 40 45 - 85
MEMPHIS....................... 29 38 - 67
3-point goals--UCF 6-15 (Wiley, Chelsie 3-6; Caldwell, Jelisa 2-4; Mealing, Angelica 1-4; White, Marshay 0-1), University of Memphi 8-20 (GOLDSMITH, Tehani 3-6; LEONARD, Paris 2-4; SEAGRAVES, Shae 1-2; THORNTON, Ashley 1-1; WINCHELL, Alex 1-5; LONLACK, Ramses 0-2). Fouled out--UCF-None, University of Memphi-LONLACK, Ramses; THORNTON, Ashley. Rebounds--UCF 45 (Cannon, Emma 20), University of Memphi 34 (THORNTON, Ashley 9). Assists--UCF 21 (Wiley, Chelsie 6), University of Memphi 14 (WINCHELL, Alex 7). Total fouls--UCF 22, University of Memphi 19. Technical fouls--UCF-None, University of Memphi-None.