Feb. 16, 2011
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - All summer the UCF women's basketball team used its 63-62 loss to Tulane in last spring's Conference USA Tournament as motivation for the 2010-11 season. Thursday night at the UCF Arena, the Knights (14-10, 7-4 C-USA) will get their chance to exact some revenge on the Green Wave (17-7, 6-5 C-USA) when the two teams tip-off at 7 p.m.
Thursday also marks Faculty and Staff Night at the UCF. There will be FREE admission for all staff and faculty members with the first 150 in attendance receiving a FREE UCF women's basketball t-shirt.
The Knights come back home after a quick trip to Marshall this weekend. UCF swept the season series with the Thundering Herd with a hard-fought 71-59 victory Sunday afternoon. For her efforts against Marshall and UTEP last Thursday at home, senior guard Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) was named the C-USA Co-Player of the Week. The Knights have now won three consecutive games entering Thursday's contest.
The defending regular season and conference tournament champions, Tulane comes to Orlando sputtering just a bit. Sitting one spot back of the Knights in the standings at 6-5, the Green Wave has dropped their last three games and four of their last five overall.
Following Thursday, UCF will play host to ECU on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game with the Pirates marks the annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration and will also be the Knights' "Pink Zone" game.
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.
Thursday's Game
Thursday marks the only regular season meeting between Tulane and UCF this year. The Knights come into the contest on a three-game win streak, while the Green Wave are experiencing the other end of the spectrum, having lost their last three. UCF is one game up on Tulane in the standings as it currently is tied for second at 7-4 with the Green Wave tied for fifth at 6-5.
Scouting the Green Wave
Tulane started the season 15-2 before a string of losses dropped their record to 17-7 coming into Thursday's game. The team's leading scorer is Danielle Dunn at 14.9 points per game, but she has played in just 16 of the Green Wave's 24 games this season and was held to just nine points Sunday at UTEP. Tiffany Aidoo (13.5ppg) and Roshaunda Barnes (13.0 ppg) are second and third on the team in scoring, respectively, and are the only two members of the Green Wave that have started all 24 games this season.
All-Time Series
Tulane holds a one-game advantage in the all-time series, 5-4. Last season's 63-62 win in the conference tournament was the third straight victory by the Green Wave over the Knights and their second in the postseason (2006). However, UCF is 3-1 against Tulane in games played in Orlando.
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 the UCF Arena., on Thursday and for the rest of the season.
Player of the Week
Senior guard Chelsie Wiley was honored as the Conference USA Player of the Week for her efforts against Marshall and UTEP last week. Wiley averaged 22.5 points per game after recording a season-high 26 against the Miners and a game-high 19 at Marshall. Wiley joins Jelisa Caldwell as the only two Knights to claim the individual honor this season.
Road Wins
After dropping three straight conference road games, the Knights have now won back-to-back games against league opponents away from Orlando following Sunday's win at Marshall. UCF opened the league slate with a win at Rice before dropping games at SMU, Memphis and ECU to fall to 1-3 in conference road tilts. Wins at Tulsa and Marshall on consecutive Sundays evened the Knights' road record at 3-3.
Season Sweep
The 12-point win over the Thundering Herd gave the Knights their first-ever season sweep of Marshall. UCF still has the chance to complete two more season sweeps when they take on UAB (Feb. 24) and Southern Miss (Feb. 27).
Steady Patty
Junior Aisha Patrick missed the first game of her college career Sunday afternoon. Patrick's streak of 75 consecutive starts came to end by sitting out the game while recovering from a hard foul she received late in the game against UTEP.
Home is Where the Wins Are
The Knights' 9-2 record at home this season is one of the best in C-USA. Only league-leading Houston has fewer losses at home this year (9-1) than UCF. Three teams have more than 10 wins at home as Memphis and UTEP both have 11 and Tulane has 10, but all have more than two losses.p>
New Look
With Patrick out of the starting lineup for the first time in three seasons, the Knights went with a new starting five for the first time in the last 12 games. Junior Racine Davis got her sixth start of the year and played a career-high 24 minutes of game time against the Herd.
Double-Double
Senior D'Nay Daniels picked up her sixth double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds against Marshall. Daniels' 11 boards were a game-high as she was also just one of two UCF players in double figures in scoring. Patrick is the only other Knight to record a double-double this season.