Feb. 19, 2010
By Andrew Gavin
UCFAthletics.com
Orlando, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Before ending the season with a three-game road trip, the UCF women's basketball team hosts Houston at 7 p.m. Saturday night in its home finale at the UCF Arena. The Knights will be looking to bounce back from a frustrating 65-59 loss to Rice on Thursday night and build momentum before the stretch run and the Conference USA Tournament in early March.
UCF will be participating in the WBCA's Pink Zone initiative Saturday, joining the unified effort to raise breast cancer awareness. All fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game, and admission will be free for all in attendance. Additionally, the first 150 fans will receive a free pink t-shirt and the first 500 fans will receive a free C-USA Pink Zone placard.
It could be a historic night for UCF junior Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.), who enters the game having scored 990 career points. Wiley is averaging 11.2 points per game this season.
In Thursday night's loss to the Owls, UCF shot just 33.3 percent from the field and hit just 13 of its final 59 field goal attempts. Junior D'Nay Daniels (Atlanta, Ga.) continued her strong play with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Marshay White (Rochester, N.Y.) added 15 points.
Houston has won five of its seven road games in league play but visit Orlando after falling at Southern Miss 77-68 Thursday night. The Cougars have a dynamic duo of Brittney Scott and Courtney Taylor, who are averaging 18.0 and 15.4 points per game respectively.
In the last meeting between UCF and Houston, Wiley scored 26 points and Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 20 as the Knights built a 39-21 lead and defeated the Cougars 79-66 in the Conference USA Tournament quarterfinals.
The contest will be the sixth and final regular season contest televised for the Knights. The game will be aired live on Bright House Sports Network, which is channel 47 in the Central Florida region on Bright House Networks. Erik Kohler will handle the play-by-play duties and Mike O'Donnell will serve as the color analyst.
In addition, the game can be heard live on WAMT 1190 AM ESPN Deportes. With Scott Adams and Andrew Gavin on the call, coverage can be heard beginning at 6:45 p.m. Those fans not in the Central Florida area or without radio access can listen live via the internet at www.1190wamt.com or on UCFAthletics.com.
? THE SERIES: Houston holds a 3-2 lead all-time against UCF, including a 1-1 record in Orlando. The two teams split a season ago, with Houston winning the regular season contest 80-65 in Houston and UCF claiming a 79-66 victory in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament.
? JOIN THE CLUB: Wiley is set to join teammate Cannon in UCF's 1,000-point club. The pair would become the second set of UCF teammates to surpass 1,000 points in the same season. Celeste Hudson and Francine Houston both joined the 1,000-point club in 2006-07.
? DOMINANT DANIELS: Daniels has been UCF's most consistent player over the past eight games. During that stretch, Daniels has notched 10-plus points seven times and is averaging 14 points and 8.8 rebounds. The junior scored a career-high 25 points last Sunday against Memphis and is shooting 47.7 percent during the eight-game stretch.
? BOARD WORK: UCF had a streak of 10-straight games outrebounding its opponents snapped Thursday night when Rice held a narrow 44-43 edge on the glass. Despite the result, the Knights are still currently leading the league in rebounding margin (+6.0) during C-USA play.
? LENDING A HAND: Cannon is leading the team in rebounding in conference games averaging nine per contest. However, she has had plenty of help from her teammates on the boards. Daniels and sophomore Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.) are averaging 7.0 and 6.7 rebounds per game respectively in C-USA action.
? BACK TO THE POINT: Angelica Mealing (Decatur, Ga.) returned to her starting point guard spot against Memphis seven games ago, and the junior has responded. Mealing had a career-high 10 assists against UTEP, and in C-USA play she has totaled 59 assists and just 24 turnovers. She is third among C-USA players in league play in assists (4.9 per game) and is tied for first in assist-to-turnover ratio (+2.3). Mealing had five assists and zero turnovers Thursday and now sits sixth all-time with 267 career assists.
? OUT IN FRONT: UCF has been impressive when getting out in front of its opponents this season. The Knights are 7-1 when leading at halftime and 7-1 when leading with five minutes to play. The team is still looking for a signature comeback win as it is 0-13 when coming out of halftime with a deficit.
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.