March 2, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF women's basketball sophomore Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) has been named Conference USA Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday afternoon. By claiming the honor for her play during the final week of the regular season, Cannon won the award a league-best three times in 2008-09.
Helping UCF secure an 8-0 record at home in C-USA play with wins over both Memphis and UAB, Cannon averaged 21 points and 14 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-2 sophomore hit 68 percent of her shots from the field and each of her eight free throws while adding six steals and two blocked shots.
"Earning this award for a league-best third time is a testament to the consistency Emma has exhibited throughout this season," said head coach Joi Williams. "Her play in these two games was pivotal in helping us finish conference play 8-0 at home. She was relentless getting to the glass on both ends of the floor, and she did a great job converting her opportunities into points by shooting 68 percent from the field."
Cannon also won the league's weekly honor on both Jan. 12 and Feb. 10. Teammate Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) earned the award twice, on both Dec.22 and Feb. 2, giving UCF a C-USA best five player of the week awards in 2008-09. The program did not have a single recipient in its first three seasons in the league.
In an 82-67 victory over Memphis on Thursday, Cannon scored 21 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. She hit 9-of-10 shots from the field and all three of her free throws while also tallying four steals.
Cannon followed that performance with 21 points and 13 rebounds in a 74-59 win over UAB Sunday in the team's regular-season finale. She knocked down 8-of-15 shots from the floor and was a perfect 3-for-3 at the line.
UCF went 11-5 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for second in the league standings. The 11 conference wins shattered the previous school record by six wins and matched the program's C-USA win total from the previous three seasons combined.
Due to tiebreaking scenarios set by the conference office, the Knights enter this week's C-USA Championship as the fifth seed and open play Thursday against 12th-seeded Rice at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. The tournament, runs from March 5-8, is being hosted by Tulane University in New Orleans and will take place at Fogelman Arena.
Fans can listen to a live audio internet broadcast of each game the Knights play in the tournament, with coverage of UCF's first game set to begin at approximately 2:10 p.m. The voice of the team, Scott Adams, will be on the call, and the broadcast can be accessed free of charge through Stretch Audio Internet at http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/multimedia/ucf-wbb-stretch-sched.html.
For the past 13 years the league has awarded the championship trophy to eight different outstanding teams. Fans may purchase their tickets in advance by going through the UCF ticket sales office at (407) UCF-1000 or Tulane Athletics at TulaneGreenWave.com or 504.861.WAVE (9283). General admission all session tickets are $50 for adults and $40 for youth, while single session prices are $10 for adults and $7 for youth.
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.
2008-09 Conference USA Players of the Week
Nov. 17: Courtney Taylor, Houston
Nov. 24: Tynikki Crook, Marshall
Dec. 1: Paris Leonard, Memphis
Dec. 8: LaCoya Terry, East Carolina
Dec. 15: Courtney Taylor, Houston
Dec. 22: Chelsie Wiley, UCF
Jan. 5: Brittany Gilliam, SMU
Jan. 12: Emma Cannon, UCF
Jan. 19: Timika Williams, UTEP & Chantelle Handy, Marshall
Jan. 26: Pauline Love, Southern Miss
Feb. 2: Chelsie Wiley, UCF
Feb. 9: Emma Cannon, UCF
Feb. 16: Jareica Hughes, UTEP & LaCoya Terry, East Carolina
Feb. 23: Jareica Hughes, UTEP
March 2: Emma Cannon, UCF