Nov. 26, 2010
="" alt="Knight Head" border="0" class="imported"> Read John Denton's Knights Insider | ="" alt="Twitter Logo" border="0" class="imported">Follow us on Twitter | ="" alt="Facebook Logo" border="0" class="imported">Get social with the Knights on Facebook
By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - It didn't take the UCF women's basketball team long to get acclimated to playing on its home floor again. After opening the season with three games on the road, the Knights (2-2) cruised past Richmond (4-2), 79-53, Friday afternoon at the UCF Arena in the 2010-11 home opener as part of the UCF Thanksgiving Classic.
The 26-point win was the eighth largest win to open a home schedule in program history for the Knights, who have now won their last three openers at the UCF Arena.
"It was great to be at home finally, since we've played our games on the road," head coach Joi Williams said. "Anytime you come home you want to play with a sense of pride. With it being the holidays, there were a lot of family and friends, and I'm really proud of our effort tonight which all started on the defensive end."
A three-pointer by Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) started the scoring in the game and was a sign of things to come as the senior guard would finish the game 5-of-10 from long range to help her score a game-high 22 points.
Junior Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.) recorded her third-straight game of 12 or more rebounds, pulling down a dozen in the win. Patrick added seven points and a season-high seven assists in 36 minutes of action. The seven assists are the most by any UCF player this season.
Seniors D'Nay Daniels (Atlanta, Ga.) and Jelisa Caldwell (Macon, Ga.) both added season highs of 15 points. Caldwell connected on two three-point fields in the game and finished 4-of-7 shooting from the floor. Daniels equaled Caldwell in scoring on 5-of-6 shooting in just 19 minutes of play. Both Caldwell and Daniels were also 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
The Knights never trailed in the game, jumping out to an early advantage that would expand to a 16-point lead, 39-23, at the break. The Spiders came out fast in the second half, however, cutting the lead to 11 just three and a half minutes into the period.
UCF would not allow the game to get any closer than that, though, pulling away down the stretch for the 26-point win over a Richmond team that was 4-1 entering the contest, including a win over NC State earlier in the year.
For the game, the Knights shot a season-best 45.6 percent (26-57) from the field. The UCF defense limited Richmond's looks and held the Spiders to just 32.8 percent (21-64) shooting.
Erika Jones (Phenix City, Ala.) joined Patrick as the other member of UCF to pull down double-digit rebounds, finishing with a career-high 10 in the win. As a team, the Knights outrebounded the Spiders, 45-36.
Only Genevieve Okoro scored in double figures in the loss for Richmond, finishing with 11 off the bench. Crystal Goring was the Spiders' top rebounder as she pulled down 10 boards in the game to go along with her game-high three blocks.
In the first game of the afternoon, Michigan State edged Western Kentucky, 59-51. UCF and WKU will play Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in the final game of the weekend, following the noon matchup between MSU and Richmond.
Season and single-game tickets for the 2010-11 women's basketball team are on sale now. Season tickets start at just $39. Fans can purchase tickets online or by calling (407) UCF-1000.