Dec. 28, 2009
By Andrew Gavin
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Returning from a nine-day layoff for the holidays, UCF (3-5) will finish its non-conference portion of the schedule and close the book on 2009 on Tuesday at the UCF Arena, hosting No. 3/3 Notre Dame (10-0) at 12 p.m. The Fighting Irish are the third ranked team the Knights have played this season.
The game will be televised live nationally by CBS College Sports with Dave Ryan handling the play-by-play duties and Debbie Antonelli serving as the color analyst. CBS College Sports Network is channel 106 on Bright House Networks in the Orlando area, as well as channel 613 on DirecTV and channel 152 on Dish Network/Echostar.
The game will be the first of three at the UCF Arena Tuesday as the UCF men's basketball team hosts its Holiday Classic beginning that evening. Buffalo and Jacksonville will square off at 4:30 p.m. and UCF will host Liberty at 7 p.m. Any fan who purchases a ticket in advance for either session of the UCF Holiday Classic on Dec. 29-30 will receive a free ticket to the women's contest against Notre Dame. The first 200 fans will also receive a free t-shirt.
Junior Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) is on the brink of history as she enters the contest just four points shy of 1,000 for her career. The reigning Conference USA Player of the Week will be the 12th member of the program's 1,000-point club. Cannon is not the only Knight on the verge of a milestone as sophomore Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.) has 99 career steals and junior Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) has knocked down 97 three-pointers in her UCF career.
In its most recent outing, UCF ended a four-game slide with a convincing 76-38 victory over Jackson State on Dec. 20. Junior Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.) continued her solid play with a game-high 20 points, while Cannon added 13 points and 10 rebounds and freshman Gevenia Carter (Houston, Texas) chipped in nine. Carter was named the C-USA Freshman of the Week on Dec. 22.
Notre Dame's best outing was also Dec. 20 as the Irish routed Charlotte 90-31. Sitting at 10-0 and third in the country, Notre Dame trails only Connecticut and Stanford in both national polls. The Fighting Irish is led by one of the nation's most highly touted freshmen, Skylar Diggins, who is averaging 12.8 points per game.
? THE SERIES: Tuesday's meeting will be the second in the series between UCF and Notre Dame and the first in just over 20 years. The two teams both met in Orlando on Nov. 25, 1989, with the Fighting Irish posting an 81-61 victory.
? UCF VS. THE BIG EAST: UCF is 6-21 all-time against the current members of the BIG EAST. The Knights last played a BIG EAST foe a season ago, losing to Villanova in the Paradise Jam 68-50 on Nov. 29. Of the 27 meeting against BIG EAST teams, 21 have come against USF, with the Bulls holding a 16-5 edge. UCF has played six members of the league, including Georgetown, Marquette, Syracuse, USF Villanova and West Virginia.
? UCF VS. THE HOOSIER STATE: In the program's history, UCF has played only four different teams from the state of Indiana, including Butler, IUPUI, Purdue and Notre Dame. The Knights have are 1-6 in seven contests against those teams, with the lone win a 100-61 victory against IUPUI on Dec. 19, 1984.
? CLEAN SWEEP: On Dec. 22, UCF swept the Conference USA weekly awards when Cannon was named Player of the Week and freshman Gevenia Carter earned Freshman of the Week honors. For Cannon, it was the fourth time in her career she has gained the distinction while Carter won her first C-USA weekly honor. Prior to last season, UCF had never had a player win a Conference USA weekly award, but the program now has six players of the week and two freshman of the week awards.
? LOOK OUT ABOVE: Cannon needs only four points to become the 12th member of UCF's 1,000-point club. At her current pace this season, Cannon will move much higher than 12th on the school's all-time scoring list. Is she stays at her current average, she will finish the regular season with 1,253 points. That number would mean she had passed seven players on the scoring list and sit in fifth place. The top four players on the scoring list are: Tamika Coley (2,006), Susan Patz (1,587), Chariya Davis (1,517) and Yolanda Rhodes (1,322).
? OFFENSIVE GLASS CLEANER: Scoring will be the main focus of Cannon Sunday, but getting to the glass is where she excels the most. Cannon is currently averaging 10.6 rebounds per game to rank second in C-USA and tied for 20th in the country. An incredible 6.6 of her rebounds have come on the offensive end, ranking her first not only in the conference but also second nationally behind only Central Arkansas' Megan Herbert.
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.