Dec. 20, 2009
By Andrew Gavin
UCFAthletics.com
| Jackson State at UCF Dec. 20, 2009 |
| Orlando, Fla. (UCF Arena) | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final | ||
| JSU | 19 | 19 | 38 | ||
| UCF | 31 | 39 | 70 | ||
JACKSON STATE (1-7)
JONES, Rachel 4-12 1-4 11; McCLIN,Shaneese 3-8 0-0 7; HESTER, Daria 3-4 0-0 6; JAMES, Bridgette 2-2 0-0 4; TAYLOR,Phenicia 1-4 2-2 4; MONCRIEFFE, Rochelle 1-1 1-2 3; LANE, Allison 1-2 0-0 2; HAGGEN,Tiffany 0-4 1-2 1; DAMPIER, Kierra 0-0 0-0 0; WREN, Lisa 0-0 0-0 0; PARKER, Mar'chetta 0-1 0-0 0; KELLUM, Tiffany 0-2 0-0 0; GOODMAN,Lauren 0-1 0-0 0; YOUNG,Whitnie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-41 5-10 38.
UCF (3-5) White, Marshay 8-14 1-5 20; Cannon, Emma 3-6 7-8 13; Carter, Gevenia 4-6 0-2 9; Mealing, Angelica 3-3 0-1 6; Daniels, D'Nay 3-6 0-0 6; Hall, Jessica 1-2 2-2 5; Wiley, Chelsie 2-5 0-0 5; Davis, Racine 2-2 0-2 4; Patrick, Aisha 2-6 0-0 4; Caldwell, Jelisa 1-4 0-0 2; Kelly, Ashia 1-1 0-2 2; Paige, Leah 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-55 10-22 76.
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF women's basketball got it exactly what it wanted before parting ways for a few days to celebrate the holidays. UCF (2-5) used a great shooting performance and stifling defense to rout visiting Jackson State (1-6) 76-38 Sunday afternoon at the UCF Arena.
The win came on the heels of a frustrating two weeks for UCF which included to four-straight losses. The first three games of the stretch were decided by just seven combined points and the fourth was a hard-fought 70-58 defeat at the hands of sixth-ranked Florida State.
UCF corrected some of the ills that led to the close losses during the losing streak. On the offensive end, the Knights pushed the ball, executed and knocked down open shots, hitting 30-of-55 shots from the field. Defensively, UCF forced 32 turnovers and held JSU to only 36.6 percent shooting.
"It was really key for us to get a win before we went home for break," said junior Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.). "We really wanted to play well and have something to build on heading into a big game against Notre Dame next week and our conference season after that. Tonight our defense played a huge role. We have not been consistent on that end of the floor and that has been a reason for some of our losses. We did a better job today communicating and getting our hands on the ball."
Cannon, who entered the game 17 points away from 1,000 for her career, scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, the 38th double-double of her career. She hit 7-of-8 from the line while adding four assists, two steals and a block in 27 minutes.
Junior Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.) hit a three-pointer and a jumper on the first two possessions as UCF jumped out to a 7-0 lead.
After Rachel Jones hit a three to cut the Knight lead to 13-11 midway through the half, UCF outscored the Tigers 22-8 over the final 10 minutes to take a 35-19 lead into the locker room.
White, who scored a game-high 20 points in the contest, finished the first half with 11 points to lead UCF. In 30 minutes of action, the junior hit 8-of-14 shots from the field, including 3-for-4 from long range. As a team, the Knights were 6-for-11 from beyond the arc.
"One of our main focuses today was to go out and be aggressive. We have seen a lot of zone lately and we have been settling for a lot of outside jumpers," said White, a major reason UCF shot over 50 percent for the first time this season. "I wanted to attack them, and my teammates also did a good job of attacking, drawing help and getting me open looks."
Leading 43-26 five minutes into the second half, UCF went on a 14-0 spurt that spanned nearly eight minutes and increased the lead from 17 to 31 (57-26) with 6:54 remaining. Five different Knights scored during the run while the defense forced six turnovers and held JSU to 0-for-6 shooting.
UCF added another 11-0 run late in the half, and the edge reached as many as 40 with just over two minutes remaining.
While holding Jackson State to just 7-for-22 in the second half, UCF connected on 17-for-28 field goals for over 60 percent.
UCF dominated the visiting Tigers down low, holding a 40-8 advantage in points in the paint. They also scored 31 points off 32 JSU turnovers. The only real struggle for the Knights was at the free-throw line, where the team hit just 10-for-22.
After taking nine days off from game action, UCF hosts No. 4/3 Notre Dame on Dec. 29 at the UCF Arena. Notre Dame is 10-0 after defeating Charlotte 90-31 Sunday. The game will also be televised live nationally on CBS College Sports.
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.