Feb. 7, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Sophomore Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) scored a game-high 26 points and Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) added 14 points and tied a career-high with 20 rebounds as UCF (10-13, 8-2 C-USA) defeated visiting SMU (14-9, 7-3 C-USA) 78-68 Saturday night in Conference USA women's basketball action at UCF Arena. In moving to 4-0 on their season-long four-game homestand, the Knights improve to 6-0 in league play at home and position themselves alone in second place in the conference standings.
It was UCF's first win in five meetings with SMU, marking the third conference opponent the Knights have defeated for the first time in school history this season.
"We are very excited to get this win," said head coach Joi Williams. "It was big and a win over another team that UCF had not beaten. It is a very good SMU team, but I thought we came out with a lot more focus [than we did Thursday] and did a good job in the second half holding their big guns below their average."
UCF trailed 36-35 at the break after leading by as many as 10 in the first half, and the Knights found themselves down 40-35 after two quick buckets by LaShandra Hill started the second half.
With her team down 44-43, freshman Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.) sandwiched a layup by Cannon with two buckets to give UCF the lead for good, 49-44, with 15:19 to play.
Ahead just 51-50 with 11:16 on the clock, the Knights saw five different players score during a 14-4 spurt that gave them a 65-54 lead with 3:37 to play. UCF hit 7-for-8 from the line down the stretch to seal its fourth-straight win.
Cannon scored 10 of her 14 points in the second half as UCF held a 26-6 edge in points in the paint. After being held scoreless in the opening 20 minutes, Patrick tallied all 12 of her points in the second half while sophomore Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.) added seven of her nine after halftime.
UCF hit 17-of-32 shots in the second half while holding SMU to just 9-of-24 from the field. The Knights finished the game 32-for-68 from the floor for 47.1 percent, and took 18 more shots than the visiting Mustangs, who were 20-for-50.
It was Wiley that kept the Knights in the game in the first half, hitting 8-or-12 shots, including 4-for-6 from long range, to lead all scorers with 20 points. Her teammates hit just 7-of-24 in the first half before picking it up in the second. Wiley's point total gave her seven games this season with 20-plus points.
She scored 14-straight points, including the first seven of a 9-0 run to give UCF a 22-12 lead with 9:24 left in the half. SMU, who had nine players score in the half, closed with a strong last 10 minutes to claim the lead.
Jillian Samuels and Brittany Gilliam had 12 points apiece in the game to lead the Mustangs. Gilliam was held below her season average of 14.4 points per game, and Delisha Wills scored just two points after halftime to finish with eight, also below her double-digit average.
Cannon's second 20-rebound performance of the season enabled UCF to hold a 41-30 edge on the glass. She had 16 of the team's 26 boards on the defensive end. Cannon also added four steals for the Knights.
With the homestand in its rear-view mirror, UCF hits the road for a four-game trip, beginning at Marshall on Friday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. in Huntington, W.Va. The Knights defeated the Thundering Herd 75-67 in Orlando on Jan. 31.
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
SMU vs UCF
2/7/09 6 p.m. at Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
At Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
UCF 78, SMU 68
SMU (14-9, 7-3 C-USA)
SAMUELS, Jillian 4-10 0-0 12; GILLIAM, Brittany 4-7 3-4 12; DAY, Haley 2-4 5-8 11; HILL, LaShandra 3-5 4-5 10; WILLS, Delisha 3-8 2-2 8; ELLIOTT, Christine 1-3 3-4 5; SEVERIN, Alice 2-5 1-2 5; MAHNESMITH, Samantha 1-2 1-2 3; BRANDENBURG, Heidi 0-1 2-2 2; SHELL, Morgan 0-3 0-0 0; ALLEN, Brittani 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-50 21-29 68.
UCF (10-13, 8-2 C-USA)
Wiley, Chelsie 11-18 0-0 26; Cannon, Emma 5-14 4-4 14; Patrick, Aisha 5-10 2-5 12; White, Marshay 3-6 3-4 9; Daniels, D'Nay 3-4 1-3 7; Mealing, Angelica 3-8 0-1 6; Kirkpatrick, Amber 2-6 0-0 4; Paige, Leah 0-1 0-0 0; Caldwell, Jelisa 0-1 0-0 0; Kelly, Ashia 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-68 10-17 78.
SMU........................... 36 32 - 68
UCF........................... 35 43 - 78
3-point goals--SMU 7-16 (SAMUELS, Jillian 4-8; DAY, Haley 2-4; GILLIAM, Brittany 1-1; MAHNESMITH, Samantha 0-1; ALLEN, Brittani 0-2), UCF 4-12 (Wiley, Chelsie 4-8; Mealing, Angelica 0-3; Kirkpatrick, Amber 0-1). Fouled out--SMU-None, UCF-MEALING, Angelica. Rebounds--SMU 30 (ELLIOTT, Christine 7), UCF 41 (Cannon, Emma 20). Assists--SMU 13 (GILLIAM, Brittany 6), UCF 16 (Patrick, Aisha 5). Total fouls--SMU 16, UCF 20. Technical fouls--SMU-None, UCF-None. A-767