April 10, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF women's basketball team made the nation's biggest jump from 2007-08 to 2008-09 in terms of RPI ranking, according to the final rankings released recently by the NCAA. The Knights finished 2008-09 ranked 116th nationally, 154 spots higher than the team's final ranking of 270 at the end of 2007-08.
The ranking of 116th this season is the result of a strong non-conference schedule combined with impressive success down the stretch as the Knights won 15 of their last 21 games. UCF finished the season with a 17-17 overall record, including an 11-5 mark in Conference USA.
With four wins in four days, head coach Joi Williams' team claimed the title at the 2009 C-USA Women's Basketball Championship. In its subsequent trip to the NCAA Tournament, the program's first since 1999, 14th-seeded UCF faced third-seeded North Carolina in the Oklahoma City Regional. In a closely contested game, the Knights fell 85-80 to the Tar Heels, the fourth ACC team they had faced in 2008-09. All told, UCF played 10 different programs from the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC.
The NCAA also released the final statistics for the 2008-09 season following Tuesday night's national championship game. Sophomores Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) and Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) ranked nationally in numerous categories.
Cannon ranked in the top-five nationally in both rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game. In shattering the school record with 393 rebounds, Cannon averaged 11.6 boards per contest to tie for fifth nationally. She also broke both the school and conference records for offensive rebounds with 173, and her average of 5.1 also tied for fifth in the country. She was 47th in the country in field goal percentage, hitting 50.9 percent from the floor.
Wiley ranked in the top-20 nationally in three-point percentage, shooting 41.0 percent from long range, good for 19th. The guard was 90th in three-pointers made per game, hitting 2.1 per contest. Wiley's 73 triples made in 2008-09 are the third-most for a single-season in school history.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.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 www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.