Nov. 30, 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
SAVANNAH, Ga. (UCFAthletics.com) - The lights may have gone out inside Tiger Arena at halftime, but that didn't stop Savannah State (3-3) from a last-second win over UCF (3-3) Tuesday night. Ezinne Kalu's bank-shot as time expired from beyond the three-point line capped a 15-point second half for the freshman and lifted her team to a 56-54 win.
Fighting illness, junior Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.) put on a show of her own in the second half, scoring 13 of her 17 points in the final frame. Patrick's basket with under 10 seconds gave the Knights the one-point lead, 54-53, and seemingly capped a back-and-forth final minute of play. Senior Angelica Mealing (Decatur, Ga.) drove hard to the basket and put a perfectly-placed pass along the baseline to setup Patrick for the go-ahead bucket.
However, an inbounds pass to Kalu with 4.8 seconds remaining in the clock was the final play of the game as the first-year Tiger used a head-fake to create space and bank the game-winning shot in as time expired, causing a mob scene on the Tiger Arena floor.
In a defensive and physical first half, the Knights forced the Tigers into three shot-clock violations and 13 total turnovers, but managed to hold just a four-point lead at the break, 23-19.
UCF held SSU without a field goal for more than six minutes for a stretch near the end of the first, but a drought of their own over the final 3:10 of play meant that the Knights held the slim lead after 20 minutes.
The home team came out firing in the second half, connecting on five three-pointers in the first 11 minutes to take the 41-37 lead. Kalu hit thee, while Darice Fountaine sunk two from downtown in that span as well.
The Knights would not go quietly as senior D'Nay Daniels (Atlanta, Ga.) grabbed a rebound and hit Patrick with a long pass near midcourt. Patrick hit the layup and the subsequent free throw to complete the three-point play to regain the lead, 42-41, with 8:35 remaining in the game.
The teams would continue to exchange points and the lead over the next four minutes before Chelsie Wiley's (Riviera Beach, Fla.) free throw tied it at 51-51.
The end of the game was hotly contested with the Tigers quickly moving up the floor for a final shot, but the ball went out of bounds off a UCF player that set up for the final play.
Patrick finished the game 6-of-11 from the field for the 17 points. She also led the Knights with seven boards in the game, while Daniels and freshman Erika Jones (Phenix City, Ala.) each nabbed four.
UCF will be back on the road Sunday at FIU. The Knights and Panthers are set to tip-off at 4:30 p.m.
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.