March 1, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Sophomore Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) and Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) combined for 52 points as UCF (13-16, 11-5 C-USA) defeated UAB (10-19, 5-11 C-USA) Sunday afternoon in women's basketball action at UCF Arena.
With the victory in their regular-season finale, the Knights closed out the conference season with a perfect 8-0 record at home. UCF also finishes the season in a four-way tie for second place after finishing last season in 12th place. The 11 C-USA wins match the total the program had in the previous three seasons combined.
"We are excited about the outcome and excited we were able to finish out the home slate at 8-0," said head coach Joi Williams. "For our young basketball team I think that is quite an accomplishment. We made a lot of strides from last year to this year, and hopefully we can take this momentum into New Orleans Thursday for the Conference USA tournament."
Trailing 16-13 after a 7-0 UAB run, UCF went on a 9-0 spurt to reclaim the lead 22-16 and never relinquished the lead. With a five-point edge with 4:01 on the clock, the hosts closed the half on a 7-2 run capped by a Wiley three at the buzzer to go into the break leading 37-27.
Wiley knocked down 9-of-14 shots from the field and 12-for-13 from the free-throw line to match her career high with 31 points. She has now notched at least 30 points on three different occasions this season, the most by any conference player.
"I started off with an airball and then coach told me `ball fake and take the ball to the hole,'" said Wiley. "I just went to the hole to try to get the easy shots and then work my out on the perimeter."
As a team, UCF hit 21-of-25 free throws for 84.0 percent. The team would also knock down 25-of-57 shots from the field while holding UAB to 37.3 percent shooting (19-51).
The Knights' lead would move between nine and 15 over the first 15 minutes of the second half. Leading 63-52 with just over five minutes remaining, UCF would score 11 of the next 13 points to put the game out of reach and lead 74-54 with 1:37 on the clock.
Cannon scored 21 points for the second-straight game and added a game-high 13 rebounds for her 17th double-double of the season. The sophomore now has 29 double-doubles in her two-year career. Cannon hit 8-of-15 shots from the field and all five of her free throws. Sophomore Angelica Mealing (Decatur, Ga.) added 12 points and four assists for UCF.
Freshman Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.) scored just five points, but shut down UAB's Amanda Peterson, UAB's second-leading scorer. Peterson scored just two points and went 0-for-6 from the field. The Knights did not have as much luck slowing Britney Jones. The league's leading scorer finished with 28 points.
UCF was outrebounded 35-33, but held a dominant 36-18 edge in points in the paint and a 20-6 advantage in second chance points. The Knights committed just 14 turnovers compared to 23 for the Blazers.
The Knights will now turn their attention to the C-USA Tournament, held in New Orleans from March 5-8 at Fogelman Arena at Tulane. Despite finishing in a tie for second, UCF will be seeded fifth and begin the tournament Thursday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. eastern time against Rice.
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
UAB vs UCF
3/1/09 3:06 p.m. at Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
At Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
UCF 74, UAB 59
UAB (10-19,5-11 C-USA)
JONES, Britney 7-18 13-13 28; DUKES, Tamika 6-12 4-6 16; BREAUX, Shelly 6-8 1-2 13; PETERSON, Amanda 0-6 2-2 2; JOHNSON, Kara 0-0 0-0 0; RANDALL, TaRonda 0-1 0-0 0; SCOTT, Amanda 0-0 0-0 0; BROWN, Meagan 0-0 0-0 0; TRUEHEART, Miteka 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 19-51 20-23 59.
UCF (13-16,11-5 C-USA)
Wiley, Chelsie 9-14 12-13 31; Cannon, Emma 8-15 5-5 21; Mealing, Angelica 5-6 0-0 12; Patrick, Aisha 2-9 1-2 5; White, Marshay 1-2 2-2 4; Daniels, D'Nay 0-3 1-2 1; Davis, Racine 0-0 0-0 0; Stovall, Jasmine 0-0 0-0 0; Caldwell, Jelisa 0-0 0-0 0; Paige, Leah 0-1 0-0 0; Kirkpatrick, Amber 0-7 0-1 0; Kelly, Ashia 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-57 21-25 74.
UAB........................... 27 32 - 59
UCF........................... 37 37 - 74
3-point goals--UAB 1-7 (JONES, Britney 1-4; PETERSON, Amanda 0-3), UCF 3-7 (Mealing, Angelica 2-2; Wiley, Chelsie 1-5). Fouled out--UAB-None, UCF-MEALING, Angelica; White, Marshay. Rebounds--UAB 35 (BREAUX, Shelly 9; JONES, Britney 9), UCF 33 (Cannon, Emma 13). Assists--UAB 10 (JONES, Britney 5), UCF 8 (Mealing, Angelica 4). Total fouls--UAB 22, UCF 22. Technical fouls--UAB-None, UCF-None. A-933