Feb. 5, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Sophomore Angelica Mealing (Decatur, Ga.) scored a career-high 20 points and connected on four late free throws as UCF (9-13, 7-2 C-USA) defeated visiting Tulsa (6-15, 2-7 C-USA) 72-69 in Conference USA women's basketball action Thursday night at UCF Arena. With the victory, UCF improves to 5-0 on its home floor in league play.
"We are very happy to get the win," said head coach Joi Williams. "I was disappointed in how we came out to play, and I did not think we came out with the intensity that we needed. You like to learn these lessons in wins if you can so that is the good thing about it."
The Knights trailed by as many as eight in the opening half and came out of the break in a 33-28 hole. Sparked by its defense, UCF rattled off a 14-0 spurt early in the second half to lead 50-40 with 13:37 to play.
Tulsa was still trailing by 10 with 6:52 on the clock after a three by UCF sophomore Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.), but the Golden Hurricane used a 13-2 run of its own to reclaim the lead, 64-63, on a Kara Vaughan jumper with 1:25 remaining.
Vaughan finished the game with 24 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including 6-of-8 from long range. She scored 21 of her points after halftime.
Sophomore Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) used a three-point play off a putback to give UCF the lead for good at 66-64. A Mealing runner extended the lead to four with 25 ticks on the clock, but Vaughan answered with a three to close to gap to one with 16 seconds left. Mealing hit all four of her free throws down the stretch to seal the game.
Mealing was efficient in posting her career high, hitting five of her nine shots, including all four of her three-point attempts. She finished 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and has now hit 24-straight free throws dating back to a second-half miss against Southern Miss on Jan. 3. At 26-for-27, Mealing leads C-USA in free-throw percentage in league play.
As a team, the league's best free-throw shooting team finished the night 15-for-16 from the line. Cannon, who finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds, knocked down all five of her attempts at the stripe. Sophomore Amber Kirkpatrick (Lawrenceville, Ga.) also added 15 points for UCF.
Tulsa used a 26-15 edge on the glass and an 18-12 margin in points in the paint to build its halftime lead. Chanel Johnson had 12 points and Larissa Williams added 11 in the opening 20 minutes.
For the game, UCF won despite being outrebounded 44-30, but the Knights held a 32-22 overall edge in points in the paint and a 23-7 advantage in points off turnovers. UCF turned the ball over 12 times compared to 18 for Tulsa.
UCF closes out a four-game homestand on Saturday, hosting SMU for a 6 p.m. game. The Mustangs fell 75-65 at Southern Miss and now sit tied for second in the C-USA standings with UCF. Southern Miss leads the league at 8-1, with its only loss coming at the hands of the Knights.
The contest will serve as the WBCA Pink ZoneTM game for UCF, and all fans wearing pink will earn free admission to the game. The first 200 fans will also receive a free pink t-shirt.
Numerous events have also been planned around the UCF-SMU game in conjunction with Pink ZoneTM. Prior to the game, Relay for Life will be holding an open house at 5 p.m. in the UCF Arena lobby. The organization will be holding pre-registration for its event at Memory Mall on Mar. 20-21.
Also prior to the game the volleyball, women's soccer, rowing, cheerleading and dance teams will be holding a mini-clinic at The Venue at UCF and the UCF soccer complex as part of National Girls in Sports Day. The clinic runs from 4-5:30 p.m., and all girls 12 and under are eligible to participate. Tickets for the clinic are $3 and can be purchased by calling Carrie Sordel at (407)823-4542. The ticket for the mini-clinic includes admission into the women's basketball game.
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
Tulsa vs UCF
2/5/09 7 p.m. at Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
At Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
UCF 72, TULSA 69
TULSA (6-15, 2-7 C-USA)
VAUGHAN, Kara 9-15 0-2 24; WILLIAMS, Larrissa 7-16 3-7 17; JOHNSON, Chanel 8-11 0-0 16; SCOTT, Chanice 2-3 0-0 5; BEER, Tatum 2-6 0-0 5; JACKSON, ReShawndra 1-9 0-0 2; BRADLEY, Meoshi 0-2 0-0 0; HALL, Kensey 0-1 0-0 0; COUISNARD, Tiffani 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-66 3-9 69.
UCF (9-13, 7-2 C-USA)
Mealing, Angelica 5-9 6-6 20; Kirkpatrick, Amber 7-15 1-2 15; Cannon, Emma 5-9 5-5 15; Wiley, Chelsie 3-12 0-0 7; White, Marshay 3-3 1-1 7; Patrick, Aisha 2-9 2-2 6; Caldwell, Jelisa 1-3 0-0 2; Kelly, Ashia 0-0 0-0 0; Paige, Leah 0-1 0-0 0; Daniels, D'Nay 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 15-16 72.
Tulsa.......................... 33 36 - 69
UCF............................ 28 44 - 72
3-point goals--Tulsa 8-18 (VAUGHAN, Kara 6-8; BEER, Tatum 1-3; SCOTT, Chanice 1-2; JACKSON, ReShawndra 0-4; BRADLEY, Meoshi 0-1), UCF 5-13 (Mealing, Angelica 4-4; Wiley, Chelsie 1-7; Caldwell, Jelisa 0-2). Fouled out--Tulsa-None, UCF-None. Rebounds--Tulsa 44 (WILLIAMS, Larrissa 12), UCF 30 (Cannon, Emma 9). Assists--Tulsa 15 (BEER, Tatum 4), UCF 10 (MEALING, Angelica 3; Patrick, Aisha 3). Total fouls--Tulsa 13, UCF 11. Technical fouls--Tulsa-None, UCF-None. A-649