Oct. 23, 2009
By Andrew Gavin
UCFAthletics.com
While teammate Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) was named the Conference USA Tournament MVP and earned much of the attention a season ago as the UCF women's basketball team was making a memorable run to the NCAA Tournament, junior Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) was quietly doing what she had been doing all season, making big shots and performing at a high level.
Including an 18-point outburst in the C-USA title game against Southern Miss, it was Wiley who led the Knights in scoring over the four-game tournament, averaging 15.7 points per game. She followed that effort with a game-high 22 points against North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament.
The performances were nothing knew for Wiley, whose redshirt sophomore campaign included 11 games of 20 points or more and three 30-point games. For the season, the guard from Riviera Beach, Fla. knocked down 73 threes and averaged 14.9 points per game. The two-time C-USA Player of the Week earned a spot on the All-C-USA third team at season's end.
"We felt like Chelsie could be a big threat, and the main thing with her was that her confidence level grew," head coach Joi Williams said of Wiley. "That really helped her because she wanted the ball in crucial situations, we trusted her to take big shots, and she delivered. Chelsie's success was a testament to the work she put in during practice and over the offseason."
Wiley says she learned a lot from a season ago, both in terms of her individual success and also what the team will take away from the roller coaster ride.
Of the NCAA Tournament experience, Wiley says, "I learned you may only get one shot, and once you are there you have only one opportunity. You do not know when the next time is that you might get there, so we will take that into this season, be humble and take things one step at a time."
Wiley understands there is a fine line between winning and losing, and as one of the team's veteran players will help get across the message that it is the little things that the Knights need to do well every single day to meet their goals this season.
"We have to work extra hard because now we have a target on our backs," said Wiley. "We have to do the little things, meaning communicating, running back on every play, playing hard every practice and not taking a possession off. One of our main goals is to be the best practice team we can be, and if we do that it will translate onto the court during games."