Feb. 26, 2009
Final Stats | CBS College Sports Highlights
UCF-Memphis Box Score attached
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Using an 18-0 run early in the first half, UCF (12-16, 10-5 C-USA) jumped out to a 23-5 lead and never looked back Thursday night, defeating visiting Memphis (11-17, 4-11 C-USA) 82-67 in Conference USA women's basketball action at UCF Arena. The victory ends a three-game losing streak for the Knights while also moving the team to a perfect 7-0 on their home court in league play.
"It was good to be back at home after being on the road," said head coach Joi Williams of the Knights playing at home after a four-game road trip. "I thought we started the game off with a lot of energy. The last few days in practice we stressed the importance of how we started the game, and we came out and got a big lead."
With the game knotted at 5-5 early, freshman Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.) started the 18-0 run with a driving layup, and sophomore Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) capped the spurt with six-straight points to give the Knights a 23-5 advantage with 14:32 remaining. Memphis went 0-for-9 from the field and turned the ball over four times during the UCF run.
Cannon, who had 34 points and 20 rebounds in the first meeting between the two teams, was dominant again inside for UCF, tallying 21 points and 15 rebounds to notch her 16th double-double of the season and 28th of her young career. She hit 9-of-10 shots from the field and all three of her free throws.
The Knights kept up the defensive intensity throughout the first half, and increased their lead to 41-14 with 5:09 on the clock. Memphis closed the period on a 10-4 run, but UCF took a 45-24 lead into the break.
Memphis hit just 6-for-26 from the field in the first half for 23.1 percent, including a 1-for-7 effort from long range.
The visiting Tigers slowly aimed to inch their way back into the basketball game in the second half, but UCF still led 61-44 on a Patrick layup with 8:26 to play. Memphis then scored 10 of the next 13 points to close to within 10 for the first time since it was 15-5 early in the game.
Sophomore D'Nay Daniels (Atlanta, Ga.) and Jelisa Caldwell (Macon, Ga.) scored on back-to-back buckets off the UCF bench to extend the lead back to 14, and Memphis could get no closer than 11 the rest of the way.
"We showed a lot of resilience in the end after Memphis closed the gap a little bit, and I thought that showed a lot of poise on our part," said Williams. "We got really good production out of our bench tonight."
Daniels was one of four UCF players to join Cannon in double figures, scoring 12 points off the bench for the Knights. Sophomore Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.) added 11 off the pine as the UCF reserves outscored their counterparts 31-13.
Starters Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) and Angelica Mealing (Decatur, Ga.) added 11 and 10 points respectively. Mealing added six assists and a career-high six steals.
UCF had 19 steals in the game and forced Memphis into 26 turnovers, which led to 29 points for the Knights. The defense also forced Memphis into 33.9 percent shooting on the night as the Tigers connected on just 21-of-62 shots.
UCF is back in action on Sunday afternoon, hosting UAB at 3 p.m. at UCF Arena. UCF rallied from a two-point halftime deficit to defeat the Blazers 74-67 in Birmingham on Jan. 10. Wiley scored 21 in the win for the Knights. General admission tickets to the season finale are on sale for only one dollar, and any member of the Golden Knights Club receives a ticket free of charge courtesy of the women's basketball program.
The Student Athlete Advisory Committee will be hosting all UCF student-athletes and the UCF Air Force ROTC on Sunday at 2 p.m. for a pre-game pizza party in the Black & Gold Club.
The contest will also be broadcast to a national audience on CBS College Sports. The play-by-play announcer will be Ben Holden and Tammy Blackburn will work as the color analyst. 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.
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
Memphis vs UCF
2/26/09 7:07 p.m. at Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
At Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
UCF 82, MEMPHIS 67
MEMPHIS (11-17, 4-11 C-USA)
LEONARD, Paris 6-18 8-10 21; THORNTON, Ashley 5-8 3-5 13; SEAGRAVES, Shae 3-7 4-4 11; LONLACK, Ramses 3-13 3-6 9; WINCHELL, Alex 2-10 2-3 7; ELLIS, Savannah 2-6 0-2 4; COPELAND, Shekeira 0-0 2-2 2; SIPPIO, Laquawanda 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-62 22-32 67.
UCF (12-16, 10-5 C-USA)
Cannon, Emma 9-10 3-3 21; Daniels, D'Nay 6-11 0-0 12; White, Marshay 3-6 4-5 11; Wiley, Chelsie 3-17 3-3 11; Mealing, Angelica 4-9 2-2 10; Caldwell, Jelisa 1-3 3-4 5; Patrick, Aisha 2-6 1-2 5; Kirkpatrick, Amber 2-5 0-0 4; Stovall, Jasmine 1-1 0-0 3; Paige, Leah 0-0 0-0 0; Kelly, Ashia 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-68 16-19 82.
Memphis........................... 24 43 - 67
UCF............................... 45 37 - 82
3-point goals--Memphis 3-15 (SEAGRAVES, Shae 1-4; WINCHELL, Alex 1-5; LEONARD, Paris 1-4; LONLACK, Ramses 0-2), UCF 4-15 (Wiley, Chelsie 2-8; Stovall, Jasmine 1-1; White, Marshay 1-3; Caldwell, Jelisa 0-1; Mealing, Angelica 0-2). Fouled out--Memphis-LONLACK, Ramses, UCF-KIRKPATRICK, Amber; Wiley, Chelsie. Rebounds--Memphis 41 (THORNTON, Ashley 13), UCF 43 (Cannon, Emma 15). Assists--Memphis 10 (LONLACK, Ramses 3; THORNTON, Ashley 3), UCF 12 (Mealing, Angelica 6). Total fouls--Memphis 19, UCF 25. Technical fouls--Memphis-None, UCF-None. A-775