March 2, 2010
By Andrew Gavin
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The first 12 meetings between Southern Miss and UCF were one-sided, with the Golden Eagles claiming a win in each of the games. The contests over the last two seasons have been anything but. The travel partners have developed a recent rivalry as the Knights have won three of the series past four games, including the thrilling overtime contest in the 2009 Conference USA tournament title game last March.
On Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST, UCF will play at Southern Miss to close the regular season. Both teams will look to post a win and build momentum in the last tune-up before the 2010 C-USA Championships begin next week in Tulsa. With the league's jam-packed standings, the game will be important as both teams jockey for higher seeds.
Earlier this season, UCF claimed its first C-USA victory with a 70-60 win over Southern Miss in Orlando. Juniors Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) and Emma Cannon (Rochester, N.Y.) scored 17 points apiece to lead the Knights.
In its last outing, UCF used a game-winning shot from Wiley to post a 50-49 win at Tulsa and close out February with a 5-3 record. The Knights will look to carry that success over to March, a month in which the team went 5-1 in 2009.
Southern Miss has lost two games in a row after falling at Tulsa and SMU last weekend, but the Golden Eagles have a five-game winning streak at home.
The game can be heard live on WAMT 1190 AM ESPN Radio. With Andrew Gavin on the call, coverage can be heard beginning at 7:45 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.
? GAMEWINNER: Wiley's game-winning shot Saturday came after a rough weekend in which the junior guard had battled sickness and scored just eight combined points before the shot went through the net to beat Tulsa.
? START STREAK: Wednesday night's game will mark the 50th-straight start for UCF sophomore Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.). She has come off the bench only once in her career, at Jacksonville on Dec. 15, 2008.
? 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.
? 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, now with 880 career rebounds, now sits just six rebounds shy of entering the top-10 in C-USA history. Cannon is averaging 10.3 rebounds per game in 2009-10, good for second in C-USA. She has done most of her damage on the offensive glass, where she averages 5.9 per game and ranks second nationally.
? BACK TO THE POINT: Since C-USA play began, junior Angelica Mealing (Decatur, Ga.) 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 9-1 when leading at halftime and 9-1 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.
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.