Jan. 8, 2010
| UCF at Marshall Jan. 8, 2010 |
| Huntington, W.Va. (Cam Henderson Center) | |||||
| Team | 1st | 2nd | Final | ||
| UCF | 20 | 40 | 60 | ||
| Marshall | 36 | 38 | 74 | ||
UCF (3-7, 0-1 C-USA)
White, Marshay 7-13 3-5 17; Wiley, Chelsie 5-11 0-0 10; Daniels, D'Nay 3-7 2-2 8; Kelly, Ashia 2-6 3-10 7; Cannon, Emma 1-5 5-8 7; Mealing, Angelica 1-4 3-3 5; Patrick, Aisha 1-9 1-2 3; Carter, Gevenia 1-5 1-2 3; Caldwell, Jelisa 0-1 0-0 0; Davis, Racine 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-61 18-32 60.
MARSHALL UNIV. (9-5, 1-1 C-USA)
HANDY, Chantelle 7-11 3-5 17; HENRIQUES, Rashedah 5-8 3-6 15; CROOK, Tynikki 5-9 3-6 13; GRAY, Raechele 2-5 2-3 6; HARRIS, Angelica 2-2 0-2 4; KING, Kendra 2-2 0-0 4; WOODS, Erica 2-6 0-2 4; DALE, Mystee 2-2 0-1 4; RANDALL, Adrian 2-5 0-2 4; MITCHELL, Alaya 1-1 1-2 3; RUIZ, Veronica 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 30-53 12-29 74.
By Andrew Gavin
UCFAthletics.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (UCFAthletics.com) - It was not the start that UCF (3-7, 0-1 C-USA) was looking for, both for the game and for the Conference USA season as the Knights fell behind by as many 19 points in the first half and fell in their league opener 74-60 at Marshall (9-6, 1-1 C-USA) Friday night in women's basketball action.
With the temperatures hovering in the teens outside the arena, UCF's shooting percentage early was nearly as low. The Knights were only able to hit 8-for-31 before the break for a shooting percentage of 25.8 percent. Intensifying the offensive woes were 20 turnovers, which the Thundering Herd turned into 13 points.
Junior Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.), the C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, picked up her second foul just four and a half minutes into the contest and went to the bench for the rest of the half. The junior averaging a double-double did not have a point or a rebound at halftime and finished with seven and two respectively in just 13 minutes before fouling out.
Conversely, Marshall could not miss early, hitting 14 of its first 18 shots from the field to build a 30-15 lead with 6:48 left in the half. Despite 16 first-half turnovers, the hosts went into the locker room leading 36-20 after shooting 68 percent of their shots.
After the Knights hit the opening bucket of the second half, Marshall hit five of six shots during a 13-0 run that advanced the lead to 25 points (47-22) at the 16:00 mark.
A more energized UCF team played well over the final 16 minutes, outscoring the Herd by 11 points, committing just four turnovers and finally cutting the lead to single digits with just over a minute to play, but it was too little too late.
UCF hit 13-of-30 shots and knocked down 14-of-24 free throws in the second half to double its first-half scoring total. The Knights finished the game 21-of-61 from the field for 34.4 percent, and misfired on each of their six three-point attempts.
Junior Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.) led UCF with a game-high 17 points, hitting 7-of-13 shots. Fellow junior Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) was the only other Knight in double figures with 10.
The Knights travel to Greenville, N.C. Saturday, where they will play East Carolina (14-2, 2-0 C-USA) on Sunday at 2 p.m.
After the opening C-USA games this weekend, UCF returns to Orlando to begin a three-game homestand. The homestand includes the 10K Gold Rush, a nationally-televised ESPN2 game on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. against UAB. The Knights need your help to pack the UCF Arena and set a new attendance record. Tickets will be free for all fans in attendance.
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.