Feb. 6, 2011
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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
TULSA, Okla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Senior guard Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) had a game-high 18 points to lead the UCF women's basketball team to a Conference USA road win Sunday afternoon at Tulsa's Reynolds Center, 61-48.
The win was the first on the road against a conference opponent for the Knights (12-10, 5-4 C-USA) since opening league play with a victory at Rice on Jan. 6. Tulsa (5-11, 1-7) kept the score close, but UCF held on with strong play from its bench.
"We dug ourselves into a hole with some bad offensive possessions in the second half, but Racine (Davis), Erika (Jones) and Aarika (Judge) did a good job coming in off the bench to play their roles like they were supposed to," head coach Joi Williams said.
After one of the worst shooting performances of her career last Sunday against ECU, Wiley scored 13 points in the first half. Her 4-of-9 shooting in the first half included 3-of-6 from 3-point range to lead her team to the six-point lead at the intermission.
Trailing by three with 2:19 remaining in the first, the Knights went on a 9-0 run to close the half up six points, 32-26. Wiley's third 3-pointer of the period helped UCF tie the game at 26-26, while senior Jelisa Caldwell (Macon, Ga.) hit a layup as time expired to cap the run.
A fast start by Tulsa early on in the second helped the Golden Hurricane regain the lead. But the Knights would not go quietly, answering with a 13-0 run of their own sparked by an Aarika Judge (Augusta, Ga.) 3-pointer. Building the lead to double digits in the final minutes, UCF held off a frantic Tulsa squad for the win.
Junior Racine Davis (Tamarac, Fla.) came off the bench in the second half to pull down two key offensive rebounds that lead to five points, including a three-point play. Those buckets helped the Knights put space between themselves and their opponent down the stretch.
Freshman Erika Jones (Phenix City, Ala.) also came off the bench to help contribute to the win, shooting 3-for-4 from the field for eight points to go along with her team-leading nine rebounds in 17 minutes.
Caldwell was the only other player in double figures for UCF, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Caldwell, Wiley and junior Aisha Patrick (Rockledge, Fla.) all had four assists in the win.
The Knights outshot the Golden Hurricane, 40.0 percent (26-60) to 34.4 percent (21-61) in the game, while also outrebounding the home team, 44-36.
Tulsa's Taleya Mayberry, the third leading scorer in C-USA coming into the game, was held to just six points on 2-of-13 shooting, while Tatum Beer led the team with 14 points.
The Knights return to action on Thursday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. against UTEP at the UCF Arena.