March 2, 2009
2009 Conference USA Championhip Bracket
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Due to various tiebreaking scenarios, the UCF women's basketball team will enter this week's Conference USA Championship as the fifth seed and open play Thursday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Eastern against 12th-seeded Rice. The tournament, which runs through Sunday, March 8, is being hosted by Tulane University and will be held at Fogelman Arena in New Orleans, La. The winner of the week's event will automatically qualify for the NCAA Women's Championship.
Head coach Joi Williams' team finished the regular season in a four-way tie for second with an 11-5 C-USA record. 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.
UCF's first round opponent Rice (7-22, 2-14) enters New Orleans as the 12th seed. The two teams met once during the regular season, with the Knights claiming a 77-52 win over the Owls on Jan. 22 in Orlando. Sophomore Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as UCF posted its largest margin of victory in a league game.
Rice did not have its starting point guard, freshman D'Frantz Smart, in the teams' first meeting due to an injury. Smart is averaging 10.6 points, 4.5 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game this season. The Owls are led in scoring by senior Maudess Fulton, who averaged 10.9 points per game during the regular season and posted 19 points against the Knights.
If the Knights can get past Rice, fourth-seeded Houston awaits in Friday's quarterfinals at 3:30 p.m. Eastern. Houston had a 19-9 overall record and was among the four teams tied for second in the league standings. The Cougars claimed the tiebreaker over UCF based on an 80-65 victory against the Knights on Jan. 22 in Houston.
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.
2009 CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP
March 5-8, 2009 - Fogelman Arena, New Orleans, La.
FIRST ROUNDS - THURSDAY, MARCH 5
Morning Session
Game 1: (8) East Carolina vs. (9) UAB, 1 p.m.
Game 2: (5) UCF vs. (12) Rice, 3:30 p.m.
Afternoon Session
Game 3: (6) Tulane vs. (11) Tulsa, 6:30 p.m.
Game 4: (7) Marshall vs. (10) Memphis, 9 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS - FRIDAY, MARCH 6
Morning Session
Game 5: winner G1 vs. (1) SMU, 1 p.m.
Game 6: winner G2 vs. (4) Houston, 3:30 p.m.
Afternoon Session
Game 7: winner G3 vs. (3) Southern Miss, 6:30 p.m.
Game 8: winner G4 vs. (2) UTEP, 9 p.m.
SEMIFINALS - SATURDAY, MARCH 7
Game 9: Game 9 - winner of game 5 & 6 (CBS C), 2:00 p.m.
Game 10: Game 10 - winner of game 7 & 8 (CBS C), 4:30 p.m.
CHAMPIONSHIP - SUNDAY, MARCH 8
Game 11: Game 11 - winner of game 9 & 10 (ESPN2), 2:30 p.m.