Feb. 27, 2010
By Andrew Gavin
UCFAthletics.com
Orlando, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Now with just two games remaining in the regular season, UCF continues to prep for the Conference USA Championships with a contest Saturday at Tulsa at 3 p.m. EST. After starting its C-USA schedule just 0-7, Tulsa is perhaps the hottest team in the league and enters having won five-straight games. The Knights have been playing better basketball of late and are sitting at 4-3 in February, but fell Thursday night at SMU, 69-61.
In Thursday's contest, UCF got off to a horrific start and trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half. Sophomore Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.) scored all 12 of her team-high point total in the second half to pace UCF to the lead, but SMU closed the game on an 11-4 run to post the win. Junior Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) had 16 rebounds to lead the Knights to a 48-34 edge on the glass.
The Golden Hurricane duo of Larissa Williams and Taleya Mayberry have led Tulsa during its hot stretch. Williams, an all-conference senior, enters the game averaging 17.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. She had 22 points and nine rebounds in Tulsa's 76-61 win over Southern Miss Thursday night. Mayberry, a freshman, is averaging 12.1 points per contest and poured in a game-high 27 points Thursday.
UCF won the meeting between the two teams 72-69 a season ago, and the all-time series is tied at 2-2.
The game can be heard live on WHOO 1080 AM ESPN Radio. With Scott Adams and Andrew Gavin on the call, coverage can be heard beginning at 2:45 p.m. Those fans not in the Central Florida area or without radio access can listen live via the internet by click here or on UCFAthletics.com.
? LAST MEETING: A season ago, UCF defeated Tulsa 72-69 in Orlando on Feb. 5 behind 20 points from Angelica Mealing (Decatur, Ga.), who went 4-for-4 from long range.
? WELCOME TO THE CLUB: Wiley's effort on Saturday secured her place as the 13th member of the program's 1,000-point club. The junior eclipsed the mark by scoring 12 first-half points.
? SOPHOMORE SURGE: While the bulk of UCF's scoring is done by its junior class, two of the Knights sophomores have stepped up of late. Patrick has scored 12 points in each of the team's past two contests, while classmate Ashia Kelly (Longview, Texas) totaled a season-high nine points Thursday at SMU. The pair also combined for 15 rebounds in Thursday's game.
? BOARD WORK: UCF has outrebounded 11 of 13 C-USA opponents this year, including a dominating 55-28 advantage on the glass Saturday against Houston. The season-high rebound total helped the Knights increase their league-leading rebound margin to plus-5.5 overall and plus-7.6 in C-USA contests. UCF is also leading the league in offensive rebounds (17.6).
? CANNONBALL: Cannon had 16 rebounds Thursday night, continuing a trend in which she has dominated the glass. She is averaging 14.3 rebounds over the past four games and has upped her average to 10.6 boards per game, second in C-USA. Cannon sits just 10 rebounds shy of entering C-USA's top-10 all-time rebounders. She does most of her damage on the offensive glass, where she averages 6.0 per game and ranks third nationally.
? BACK TO THE POINT: Since C-USA play began, Mealing has been one of the league's best floor generals. She has totaled 64 assists and just 32 turnovers in league games and is tied for second among C-USA leaders in assists (4.6 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (+2.1). Mealing had a career-high 10 assists against UTEP, 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 8-1 when leading at halftime and 8-1 when leading with five minutes to play. The team is still looking for a signature comeback win as it is 0-14 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.