March 8, 2010
Follow the Knights in the C-USA Championship Blog, live from Tulsa
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TULSA, Okla. - UCF is moving on to second-round play of the Conference USA tournament thanks to some clutch shooting from juniors Chelsie Wiley and Emma Cannon.
Wiley hit a game-tying 3-pointer in regulation and then sank four free throws in overtime of UCF's thrilling 59-57 OT defeat of Marshall in Opening Day play at the C-USA tournament in Tulsa.
Cannon, a junior forward, also made two free throws with 42 to seconds to play to break a 53-all tie.
UCF led 27-17 at the break, but struggled much of the second half and trailed 47-41 with 2:43 to play. But UCF locked down defensively and got two 3-pointers from Wiley to force overtime. And once there, the experienced Knights thrived under the pressure.
"It's a sigh of relief for us,'' UCF coach Joi Williams said. ``I'm really proud of how our team fought back, fought through adversity, hit some big shots and hit some free throws when we needed them.''
Eighth-seeded UCF now plays top-seeded Tulane Tuesday at 1 p.m. EST. UCF is seeking a second consecutive C-USA title after becoming the first team in league history to win four games in four days last season to claim the C-USA crown.
Wiley, UCF's most clutch player all season, led the Knights with 19 points. D'Nay Daniels scored nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Cannon chipped in eight points and seven rebounds.
Aisha Patrick, a sophomore from Rockledge, was big throughout the game with eight points, 10 rebounds and five steals.