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UCF Looks For First-Ever Win at ECU Sunday Afternoon

Jan. 29, 2011

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

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By Pat Salvas

UCFAthletics.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF women's basketball team will try and pick up its first-ever win at East Carolina Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The Knights (11-9, 4-3 C-USA) have never defeated the Pirates (8-11, 2-4 C-USA) at Minges Coliseum in five all-time meetings, but will look to change that with a victory on Sunday.

UCF is coming off one of its most exciting games of the season, a 71-68 loss to league-leading Houston Thursday night at home. The Knights trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half before coming all the way back to take the lead in the final minutes. However, UCF was unable to maintain the lead as the Cougars edged the Knights by three.

Senior D'Nay Daniels (Atlanta, Ga.) had her recorded her team-leading fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore Gevenia Carter (Houston, Texas) scored a career-high 22 points.

The Pirates are currently ninth in the Conference USA standings at 2-4 in league play and are 8-11 overall. ECU defeated UAB, 71-64, Thursday night in the team's most recent game. Despite being near the bottom of the league standings, the Pirates are second in the conference in scoring at 73.3 points per game. Kim Gay leads the team in scoring at 12.1 points per contest to rank 16th in the league.

The Knights will have a short break following their game with the Pirates before returning to the floor again on Feb. 6 at Tulsa.

Don't miss out on another exciting UCF women's basketball game this season as affordable single-game tickets for remaining home games are available right now. Tickets start at $2 for youth and seniors, $5 for general admission. Tickets can be purchased online at UCFAthletics.com or by calling the UCF Athletics Ticket Office at (407) UCF-1000.

Sunday's Game
The Knights and Pirates will meet for the first of two games this season when they play Sunday afternoon. UCF enters the game having suffered a heart-breaking loss to C-USA leading Houston on Thursday night, 71-68, to drop to 4-3 in league play and 11-9 overall. UCF is now in a five-way tie for fifth place in the league standings. ECU will make the trip to Orlando on Sunday Feb. 20 for a 2 p.m. contest at the UCF Arena.

Scouting the Pirates
ECU won its most recent game, 71-64, Thursday night against UAB. The win was just the second against a conference opponent for the Pirates, who improved to 2-4 in league contests this season. The team is 8-11 overall with non-conference victories over UMass and at Hawaii. Kim Gay leads the Pirates in 2010-11, averaging 12.1 points per clip to rank 16th in the league. Against UAB, Allison Spivey was ECU's top scorer, dropping 20 points, while tying Gay for the team lead in rebounds with seven.

All-Time Series
In five previous meetings at Minges Coliseum, the Knights have yet to record a win. UCF is 0-5 all-time on the road in the series and 2-8 overall. The last time these two met was on Feb. 6, 2010 at the UCF Arena with the Knights taking the win, 60-50. The two split the season series last year with each winning on their home floor.

On the Air
The rest of the UCF women's basketball season will be broadcast through Genesis Communications and can be heard on either WAMT 1190 AM or WHOO ESPN 1080 AM. Scott Adams will have the call live from Greenville, N.C., on Thursday and for the rest of the season.

Carter Comes
on Strong Houston native and UCF sophomore Gevenia Carter scored a career-high 22 points against her hometown Cougars. Carter's previous career high was 16 set earlier this season at James Madison in the third round of the Preseason WNIT. She was 6-of-17 from the floor in the game against Houston, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Carter's scoring output was also aided by seven free throws.

D'Nay's Double-Double
Senior forward D'Nay Daniels had 13 points and 10 rebounds against Houston to record her fifth double-double of the season. Daniels now has five of the team's six total double-doubles this year as just one other player has managed the feat (Patrick).

Fill Up the Sheet
Aisha Patrick was once again the most complete player on the floor against Houston. Patrick scored just six points, but had a team-high 12 rebounds, while posting games highs of five assists and four steals.

Winning Month
Even if the Knights lose on Sunday to ECU, the team is guaranteed to have its first winning record in a month during the season. UCF was .500 in both November (3-3) and December (3-3), but is 5-3 in January headed into the matchup with the Pirates.

Streak Snapped
The loss to Houston snapped a six-game home winning streak and was just the second loss of the season at the UCF Arena for the Knights (8-2). UCF is 15-5 at home against C-USA opponents since the start of the 2008-09 season.

Kelly Connects
Despite making nine-straight starts, junior forward Ashia Kelly not been able to break out of her role-player title this season. That was until Kelly connected on two big three-pointers against the Cougars to help the Knights come all the way back in the second half. Kelly's final trifecta of the game gave her team the lead, 66-65, for the first time since the first half.

Bench Points
Other than the blowout win of Jacksonville in which UCF reserves scored 32 points, the 28 scored by the Knights' bench against Houston was the most in any game this season. Carter's 22 and six from freshman Erika Jones in 12 stellar minutes of play comprised the UCF bench scoring.

Going For 50 Again
Head coach Joi Williams picked up her 100th-career coaching victory earlier this year against Rice. Williams now will look to earn her 50th as the UCF head coach with the next Knights' victory. She is now in her fourth season at UCF.