March 8, 2010
TULSA, Okla. (UCFAthletics.com) - With an overtime victory over Marshall Monday afternoon, UCF survived to play another game. The Knights reward will be a matchup with top-seeded Tulane on Tuesday at 1 p.m. EST at the Donald Reynolds Center in Tulsa.
Despite having a 10-point halftime lead, UCF needed overtime to beat Marshall 59-57 Monday and win its fifth-straight C-USA tournament game. The Knights struggled mightily in the second half offensively, hitting just 6-of-26 field goals and 6-of-15 free throws while watching Marshall rally. In the end though, the timely shooting of junior guard Chelsie Wiley and better results from the free-throw line in the extra session pulled the Knights through. Wiley hit 4-of-8 threes, including a triple to tie the game late in regulation, and finished with 19 points.
In their only meeting with Tulane this season, the Knights had a 10-point lead with five minutes to play before the Green Wave rallied for the 72-70 victory on Jan. 31. Tulane's Roshaunda Barnes scored a game-high 25 points in that meeting, one of four Tulane players in double figures. Wiley and fellow junior Marshay White had 17 points for the Knights.
UCF has played much better basketball since that Sunday afternoon, winning seven of its last 10 games overall, including three in a row.
Tulane enters the tournament at 23-6 overall and posted a 12-4 record in league play. The Green Wave are a balanced squad with two all-conference scorers in Chassity Brown (13.6) and Danielle Nunn (11.2). Tiffany Aidoo chips in 9.9 points per contest while Barnes averages nine.
The Knights have played nine games against Tulane all-time, with the Green Wave holding a 5-4 edge in the series. The two teams have met once in the C-USA tourney, with the Green Wave winning 69-52 in 2006.
Monday's contest can be heard in the Central Florida area on WHOO 1080 ESPN "The Team." With Scott Adams and Andrew Gavin on the call, the broadcast begins at 1 p.m. EST. The broadcast can also be found on ESPNFlorida.com and UCFAthletics.com.
? DEJA VU?: Monday's game against Marshall brought back memories from 2009 for the Knights. It was the second-straight season the Knights had opened the tourney with a two-point victory. It was also the second C-USA tourney game in a row that UCF won in overtime. The Knights defeated Rice 66-64 in the first round last season and beat Southern Miss 65-54 in overtime in the championship game.
? START STREAK: Aisha Patrick made her 51st-straight start Monday afternoon and did not disappoint. The under the radar sophomore scored eight points, grabbed eight rebounds and tallied five steals in the UCF win. She was the major reason that Marshall's Chantelle Handy scored just two points on 1-for-4 shooting.
? BOARD WORK: UCF outrebounded 14 of its 16 opponents in C-USA play and continued that trend against Marshall. The Knights held a 44-40 advantage on the glass Monday and ripped down 21 offensive rebounds.
? TERRIFIC IN THE TOURNEY: Wiley picked up right where she left off a season ago in the C-USA tourney. Wiley has averaged 16.2 points per game in the tourney over the past two seasons.
? MOVING ON UP: UCF's 1,000-point scoring duo of Wiley and Emma Cannon continue to move up the school's all-time scoring list. Wiley passed two players to move to eight place Monday with 1,053 points while Cannon sits just 12 points shy of fifth with 1,142 points.
? LOGGING TIME: In the overtime contest against Marshall, two different Knights played at least 40 minutes. Patrick played in all of the 45 minutes while point guard Angelica Mealing logged 40.
? OUT IN FRONT: UCF has been impressive when getting out in front of its opponents this season. The Knights are 11-1 when leading at halftime and 10-1 when leading with five minutes to play. The Marshall victory was the first time in 2009-10 that UCF had rallied to win when traveling with five minutes to play.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.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 www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.