March 3, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF women's basketball sophomores Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) and Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) have both been voted to the 2008-09 Conference USA All-Conference squads, the league office announced Tuesday. Cannon was tabbed to the first team while Wiley landed a spot on the third team. The duo's appearance on the all-conference squads marks the first time two Knights have been voted C-USA All-Conference in the same season.
Cannon becomes the first Knight to be named to the first team since UCF joined C-USA in 2005-06. The 6-foot-2 sophomore averaged 15.6 points and 11.1 rebounds per game during the regular season. She led the league and is currently tied for eighth nationally in rebounding. Cannon is currently hitting 50.8 percent from the field and is second in the league in free-throw percentage (79.9). She is the only league player to rank among the league leaders in points, rebounds, field-goal percentage (50.8) and free-throw percentage (79.9).
"Emma consistently gave us a strong post presence both offensively and on the glass this season, and I am glad to see her recognized with this well-deserved honor," said head coach Joi Williams. "To gain this distinction as a sophomore is a testament to her hard work, and I know seeing that hard work pay off will only make her work to continue that improvement."
Cannon mixed in moments of sheer dominance to a consistent sophomore campaign that saw her post double figures in 26 of 29 games during the regular season and total 17 double-doubles. She was the lone player in the conference to win Player of the Week on three different occasions. She scored a C-USA season-high 34 points and added 20 rebounds against Memphis on Jan. 8. Cannon became the only C-USA player to grab 20 rebounds twice when she accumulated 20 against SMU on Feb. 7.
In just two seasons at UCF, Cannon has posted staggering numbers and added her name to the record books in numerous spots. She ranks second all-time in double-doubles (29), second in rebound average (9.9), sixth in free throws made (213), sixth in scoring average (13.6), seventh in rebounds (569), seventh in field-goal percentage (50.1) and tenth in blocks (46). She has also scored 803 points in 59 career games.
Wiley overcame a slow start to her sophomore season to average 14.6 points per game and rank eighth in the league. The 5-foot-7 guard became one of the league's best three-point shooters and is currently hitting 42.8 percent from long range (59-138). She is also seventh in free-throw percentage (77.8) after hitting 47 of her last 52 from the line.
"Chelsie worked extremely hard on her game to become a versatile scoring threat for our team this season," said Williams. "As that hard work was rewarded with positive results on the court, her confidence grew and she took her game to another level."
Wiley had numerous offensive outbursts this season with nine games of 20 or more points, and she was also the only league player to score 30-plus points on multiple occasions. Wiley scored 31 against both Ole Miss and UAB and tallied 30 against Marshall. Against Ole Miss, Wiley tied the school record for threes made in a game and set a new mark for three-point percentage, hitting 8-for-9 from long range.
With 74 made threes in her career, Wiley is tied for seventh on the program's all-time list. She currently holds the highest career three-point percentage, having hit 74-for-186 from long range for 39.8 percent.
The all-conference squads, along with the all-defensive and all-freshman teams, are listed below. Individual awards for Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year will be released by the C-USA office on Wednesday.
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 3:10 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 C-USA ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
First Team
Emma Cannon, UCF
Courtney Taylor, Houston
Pauline Love, So. Miss
LaCoya Terry, East Carolina
Jareica Hughes, UTEP
Second Team
Brittany Gilliam, SMU
Britney Jones, UAB
Delisha Wills, SMU
Paris Leonard, Memphis
Larissa Williams, Tulsa
Third Team
Chelsie Wiley, UCF
Stephanie Helgeson, So. Miss
Jasmine Young, East Carolina
Tynikki Crook, Marshall
Ashley Langford, Tulane
All-Freshman Team
Jean Best, East Carolina
D'Frantz Smart, Rice
Christine Elliott, SMU
Brett Benzio, Tulane
Dietra Caldwell, UTEP
All-Defensive Team
Jasmine Young, East Carolina
Courtney Taylor, Houston
Brittany Gilliam, SMU
Larrissa Willams, Tulsa
Jareica Hughes, UTEP