Feb. 18, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Back on the road, UCF plays the third game of a four-game road trip Thursday night at surging UTEP at 9 p.m. eastern time. Winners of three in a row, the Miners, the defending C-USA regular season champions, have put themselves in a tie for fourth in the Conference USA standings and sit just one game back of the Knights. UCF had a five-game winning streak halted and fell from a first-place tie in the league standings with an 86-83 loss at East Carolina on Sunday.
Knights' fans can listen to a live audio internet broadcast of the game beginning at approximately 8:40 p.m. The broadcast can be accessed free of charge through Stretch Audio Internet at http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/multimedia/ucf-wbb-stretch-sched.html.
In the contest against ECU, the Knights got 18 points and 11 rebounds from sophomore Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) and forced overtime with a second-half comeback, but the Pirates and LaCoya Terry were too much. Terry finished with 28 points and hit the game-winning jumper with eight seconds left. Cannon leads the Knights in scoring (15.2) and is tops in the conference in rebounding (10.8).
UTEP, led by junior Jareica Hughes and her 13 points per game, returns home after a key 75-72 victory at Houston on Saturday. Hughes, the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, scored 26 points and dished out seven assists in the win.
The Miners ran through the conference with an unblemished 16-0 record a season ago. UTEP is 10-5 at the Don Haskins Center in 2008-09 while the Knights are 3-3 on the road in conference play.
KNIGHTS NOTES
? INSIDE THE SERIES: UTEP leads the all-time series with UCF 3-1, including a 1-0 mark in El Paso. In the teams' meeting last year, the Knights fell at home 89-74 to a UTEP team that finished the season 16-0 in conference play.
? RECORD AND COUNTING: With its 75-67 win over Marshall on Jan. 31, UCF notched its sixth C-USA win of the season, the most victories in league play since joining the conference in 2005-06. The Knights have added to the record with three wins since and are just two C-USA wins of matching the total the program had in its first three seasons combined.
? CANNON ON FIRE: Cannon has been tremendous of late. She has recorded a double-double in seven of the last eight games and has scored at least 14 points in each of those contests. Cannon is averaging 15.5 points and 12.4 rebounds and is also 34-for-40 from the free-throw line over that stretch.
? HOME SWEET HOME: The Knights are now a perfect 6-0 at UCF Arena in Conference USA play. The six-straight home victories mark the longest winning streak in the team's new home and the longest home streak for the program since the 2003-04 team won 10 in a row. During the streak, UCF is outscoring opponents by over 10 points a game and has a turnover margin of plus-5.5.
? AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: Cannon now leads the conference and is tied for tenth nationally in rebounding. She is also 10th in offensive rebounds per game. Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) is currently fourth in the country in three-point percentage, hitting 47.3 percent from long range.
? DAY-BY-DAY: Since beginning league play, UCF is 4-0 on Thursdays and 4-0 on Saturdays. With the loss at ECU, the Knights are now 0-3 on Sundays in C-USA 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.