Nov. 8, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Getting 18 second-half points from junior Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.), the UCF women's basketball team held off a late surge from visiting St. Leo to post a 67-60 victory Sunday afternoon in an exhibition contest.
Wiley was one of three Knights to reach double figures in the game, as fellow juniors D'Nay Daniels (Atlanta, Ga.) and Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 18 and 14 respectively. Cannon, the 2009-10 Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year, added a game-high 17 rebounds. She had 21 double-doubles and ranked fifth nationally during her sophomore season.
Leading 18-16 midway through the opening half, UCF went on a 9-2 run to take a 27-18 lead with 3:03 left before halftime. Junior Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.) started the spurt with a three-pointer while Cannon capped it with a short jumper. Cannon had 11 points and seven rebounds as UCF led 31-26 at the break.
Daniels scored 10 of the Knights' first 14 points in the second half, and her three-point play at the 12:52 mark gave her team its biggest lead of the game, 45-34.
The Lions mounted a comeback and tied the game twice the rest of the way, the last time at 51-51 with 7:12 remaining. Wiley scored 15 of the last 19 points for UCF, including three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to give her team the lead for good.
After missing her first seven shots, Wiley finished the game 4-for-13 from the field and knocked down 7-of-8 free throws. Daniels' 18-point effort came on 8-for-12 shooting from the floor.
UCF will open its 2009-10 season on Sunday, traveling to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to play No. 24 Middle Tennessee State at 3 p.m. Following the Knights' opener at MTSU, they will return to the UCF Arena for the home opener against Bethune-Cookman on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m.
Season and single-game tickets are currently available with the UCF Ticket Office. Knight fans can purchase season tickets for each of the team's 14 home games for just $39. For more information on purchasing 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.
Newspaper Box Score
St. Leo vs UCF
11/08/09 3 p.m. at Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
At Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena)
UCF 67, St. Leo 60
ST. LEO
WINDHAM, Willonda 6-14 5-6 17; CLEMMONS, Gekeela 3-14 4-4 10; WILLIAMS, Sierra 3-4 4-7 10; CARANNANTE, Brittany 3-11 2-2 9; DANIELS, Dominique 3-8 3-4 9; LEE, Lauren 1-5 3-4 5; REYNARD, Monique 0-0 0-0 0; PATTON, Chanele 0-0 0-0 0; CLYBURN, Elise 0-0 0-0 0; BRADLEY, Kiara 0-0 0-0 0; SCHMIDT, Melissa 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-57 21-27 60.
UCF
Wiley, Chelsie 4-13 7-8 18; Daniels, D'Nay 8-12 2-4 18; Cannon, Emma 4-13 6-8 14; White, Marshay 2-6 1-2 6; Mealing, Angelica 2-7 0-0 5; Hall, Jessica 1-1 0-0 2; Paige, Leah 1-1 0-0 2; Patrick, Aisha 1-7 0-0 2; Caldwell, Jelisa 0-1 0-0 0; Davis, Racine 0-1 0-0 0; Kelly, Ashia 0-0 0-0 0; Carter, Gevenia 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-64 16-22 67.
St. Leo........................... 26 34 - 60
UCF............................... 31 36 - 67
3-point goals--SLW 1-6 (CARANNANTE, Brittany 1-2; CLEMMONS, Gekeela 0-4), UCF 5-17 (Wiley, Chelsie 3-9; Mealing, Angelica 1-1; White, Marshay 1-4; Caldwell, Jelisa 0-1; Carter, Gevenia 0-2). Fouled out--SLW-None, UCF-None. Rebounds--SLW 46 (DANIELS, Dominique 10; CLEMMONS, Gekeela 10), UCF 40 (Cannon, Emma 17). Assists--SLW 8 (CARANNANTE, Brittany 4), UCF 13 (Mealing, Angelica 4). Total fouls--SLW 18, UCF 22.