Oct. 14, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Coming off one of the best individual seasons in UCF history, junior Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) has garnered some early accolades for 2009-10 as the forward was named the Conference USA Preseason Women's Basketball Player of the Year on Wednesday. Cannon was given the award based on a vote of the league's head coaches and is the first UCF player to earn the distinction.
With the award, Cannon also claims one of five spots on the C-USA Preseason All-Conference team. Joining Cannon on the team are UTEP's Jareica Hughes, SMU's Brittany Gilliam, Southern Miss' Pauline Love and Houston's Courtney Taylor. Cannon and Love were the lone unanimous selections.
The talent returning around C-USA makes Cannon's selection as the league's preseason player of the year more impressive. Hughes is the two-time defending C-USA Player of the Year and won the preseason award a season ago, while Love and Taylor were both All-C-USA first-team selections in 2008-09.
"We are proud that Emma received this honor considering the many talented players returning this season," said head coach Joi Williams. "We expect for Emma to continue to improve her game as practice gets underway for the upcoming season."
After a successful freshman campaign, Cannon raised her game to another level as a sophomore. The New Yorker averaged 15.5 points and 11.6 rebounds per game while leading the Knights to a second-place finish in C-USA. Her 393 rebounds, a single-season UCF school record, were the second most ever pulled down by a C-USA player. She also ranked fifth nationally in rebounds per game.
Even more dominant in leading the Knights to the championship at the C-USA Tournament, Cannon averaged 14.3 points and 14.5 rebounds per game. She was named the tournament MVP for her performance, which included setting the championship record for rebounds with 58 over the four-game stretch.
Cannon also created a buzz for her performance against some of the nation's best teams. In three games against ranked squads from Baylor, Florida State and North Carolina, Cannon averaged 18.7 points.
Entering her junior season, Cannon has 878 points and 654 career rebounds, leaving her just 122 points shy of becoming the 11th member of the UCF 1,000-point club and in third-place all-time in rebounds. Including a league-high 21 last season, Cannon now has 33 career double-doubles.
Season tickets are currently with the UCF Ticket Office. Knight fans can purchase season tickets for each of the team's 14 home games for just $39.
Women's basketball season tickets can also be purchased with the UCF Gold Pass, which grants fans admission to every women's basketball home game as well as the remainder of the volleyball season and each softball home contest. The UCF Gold Pass costs just $79 and saves fans a total of $34.
For more information on the UCF Gold Pass or season tickets, contact the UCF ticket office at (407) 823-1000.
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.