Feb. 26, 2011
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - With just two games remaining in the regular season, the UCF women's basketball team is hitting its stride at just the right moment. The Knights are currently riding a six-game winning streak after edging UAB in their most recent game. UCF (17-10, 10-4 C-USA) will take that momentum into Sunday's game at Southern Miss from the Reed Green Coliseum at 3 p.m.
UCF now sits alone in second place after Tulane came back to defeat Rice; the team the Knights were tied with headed into the day.
The six-game streak is the longest since UCF put together a seven-game stretch that concluded with the Knights winning the 2009 C-USA Tournament Championship against Southern Miss.
The Golden Eagles (10-17, 5-9 C-USA) come into the game near the bottom of the league standings. Winners of just one of their last seven games, Southern Miss will be playing its final home game of the season on Sunday when they host the Knights. The two teams met on Jan. 9 in Orlando with UCF earning the impressive 24-point victory, 67-43.
Following Sunday's road finale, the Knights will return home for a special game to close out the regular season on Thursday, March 3 when they play host to Memphis in a nationally-televised game on CBS College. A postgame Senior Night ceremony will honor the dedication and commitment of five members of UCF playing in their final home game. Admission is free for all fans with the first 250 in attendance getting a FREE UCF women's basketball t-shirt and the first 500 receiving a FREE UCF women's basketball senior poster. Postgame autographs with UCF Cheer and KnightMoves as well as with the Knights will also be open to all fans.
Sunday's Game
UCF will play in its final road contest of the 2010-11 regular season when it tips-off at the Reed Green Coliseum Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. EST with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. The Knights are currently on a six-game win streak after beating UAB, 53-50, Thursday night in Birmingham.
Scouting the Golden Eagles
Southern Miss is currently on a two-game losing streak and has lost six of their last seven games overall. The team's lone win during that stretch was 15-point victory, 66-51, over Memphis at home on Feb. 17. Rachel Vigers leads the Golden Eagles in scoring this season, averaging 16.9 points per game. Tanes Washington is second on the team at 14.4 ppg, but ranks first on the team and fourth in conference at 9.1 boards per contest.
All-Time Series
The Knights are just 5-13 all-time against Southern Miss. But don't let the record fool you, UCF has won the last four and four of the last five against the Golden Eagles. The current four-game win streak against USM began with 65-54 overtime win in the 2009 C-USA Tournament Championship. However, the Knights are just 1-7 all-time in Hattiesburg with the lone victory coming March 3, 2010.
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 Hattiesburg, Miss., Sunday afternoon.
Last Time
Out The last time these two teams met was back on Jan. 9 at the UCF Arena. Just the second league game of the year for both teams, the Knights earned the win with a dominating 24-point victory, 67-43. Senior D'Nay Daniels picked up a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds in the game, while fellow senior Jelisa Caldwell added 14 points and junior Aisha Patrick also had 10 rebounds.
A Look at the Streak
Beginning with a road win at Tulsa, the Knights have rattled off six straight wins. Three victories have come on the road and with the other three coming at the UCF Arena. Chelsie Wiley leads the team in scoring during the stretch at 14.3 points per game and is a perfect 17-for-17 from the free-throw line. UCF's scoring margin during that time is +8.7, as it has held opponents to just 57.2 points while scoring 65.8 points per contest.
Five Leads Twice
Sophomore Gevenia Carter led the Knights in scoring for the second time this season when she scored a team-high 10 points against UAB. The previous game Carter led the team in points was her career-high 22-point performance against Houston on Jan. 27.
Low Figures
Despite the win, UCF had several season lows at UAB. The 10 points from Carter was the lowest team-high point total by any player this season. The 18 first-half points were the fewest in any half this season, while the 36 combined points were six fewer than the 42 scored by UCF and Savannah State in the first half of a Nov. 30 game.
Almost 200
Wiley's 1-for-6 shooting from 3-point range gives the senior guard 195 in her career. Already second all-time on the program's 3-pointers list, Wiley needs just five more to become the second UCF player to reach 200 in a career.
Passing 100
With three assists at UAB, junior Aisha Patrick went over 100 assists for the season. After dishing out 100 as a freshman, Patrick had just 55 as a sophomore in 2009-10. She now joins senior Angelica Mealing as the only two players on the team with two 100-assist seasons. Mealing accomplished the feat as a sophomore and a junior.
Excelling at the Line
Wiley is .816 (80-98) from the free-throw line this season. If she continues at this pace, Wiley will have the best single-season percentage since Shelby Weber shot .820 (54-65) in 2005-06.
Rebounding Leaders
D'Nay Daniels' five rebounds at UAB give the senior forward 607 for her career to rank seventh in program history. She needs just six rebounds to move up past two players and into fifth place all-time. Patrick's 6.3 career rebounds per game rank seventh all-time.