Feb. 6, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Winners of five-straight home games, the UCF women's basketball team tries to conclude its season-long four-game homestand with a perfect 4-0 record as SMU visits UCF Arena Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will be part of the WBCA Pink ZoneTM initiative to raise breast cancer awareness.
All fans wearing pink will gain free admission to the game, and a free pink t-shirt will be given to the first 200 fans entering the arena. Fans will also be given a free pink UCF bracelet, and a $250 scholarship will be awarded to the most spirited UCF student.
The game, which will be televised live on Central Florida on Bright House Sports Network, is a battle of the two teams tied for second in the C-USA standings. At 7-2, the two teams sit just one game behind Southern Miss for first place.
Bright House Sports Network is a 24-hour local sports network available in central Florida on Bright House Networks digital cable channel 47. Bernie Guenther will handle the play-by-play duties and will be joined by former UCF guard Mike O'Donnell on the broadcast.
On Thursday, the Knights survived a sluggish start and an early eight-point deficit to defeat Tulsa 72-69 for their third-straight victory. Sophomore Angelica Mealing (Decatur, Ga.) scored a career-high points in the win while extending her streak of consecutive made free throws to 24. Fellow sophomore Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 15 points and added nine rebounds against Tulsa, and she leads the team with averages of 15 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
SMU comes to Orlando after falling at Southern Miss on Thursday 75-65 in a first place showdown. Junior forward Brittany Gilliam scored 17 points to lead the Mustangs, but hit just 6-of-22 shots from the field. Delisha Wills scored 13 points and Christine Elliot added 11 off the bench.
UCF will be looking to post its first all-time win in four meetings with the Mustangs. In 2008-09, the Knights have already earned their first wins over both Southern Miss and East Carolina.
KNIGHTS NOTES
? INSIDE THE SERIES: SMU leads the all-time series with UCF 4-0, including a 90-62 victory over the Knights a season ago in Dallas. The Mustangs won the only previous meeting in Orlando with a 69-57 win on Feb. 10, 2006.
? RECORD AND COUNTING: With its 75-67 win over Marshall last Saturday, 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 added to the record with their win over Tulsa Thursday.
? HOME SWEET HOME: The Knights are now a perfect 5-0 at UCF Arena in Conference USA play. The five-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-6.2.
? I'M GOING STREAKING: Mealing knocked down all six of her free throws in the win over Tusla and has now connected on 24 in a row from the charity stripe. At 26-for-27, Mealing is tops in the league and shooting 96.3 percent from the free-throw line.
? CLEAN SWEEP: Sophomore Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) and freshman Aisha Patrick made it a UCF clean sweep as they were named C-USA Player and Rookie of the Week respectively on Monday. Wiley earned the weekly honor for the second time in 2008-09 while Patrick became the first Knight to win the rookie of the week award.
? AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: Cannon is now 15th in the country in rebounds and tied for 11th in offensive rebounds per 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.