Feb. 9, 2011
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Snapping a two-game losing skid and notching its first Conference USA road win since Jan. 6 with a 13-point victory Sunday at Tulsa, the UCF women's basketball team returns home for Thursday night's matchup with UTEP. The Knights and Miners are set to tip-off from the UCF Arena at 7 p.m.
Thursday marks Go Red for Women Night. The first 250 fans in attendance will receive a red UCF armband to help support the fight against heart disease in women.
In the Knights' last game, senior guard Chelsie Wiley (Riviera Beach, Fla.) led the team to the 61-48 win over the Golden Hurricane Sunday afternoon with a game-high 18 points. Freshman Erika Jones (Phenix City, Ala.) put together a solid game at Tulsa, scoring eight points and pulling down a team-high nine rebounds.
UTEP comes to Orlando for the first time in nearly three years. The Miners have lost three of their last four games, including their last two leading up to Thursday's meeting. On Sunday, UTEP fell to UAB, 62-56, dropping their record to 12-9 overall and 4-5 in league contests.
The Knights will head back out on the road following Thursday night's game, travelling to take on Marshall Sunday at 2 p.m.
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
The Knights take on the Miners for the first and only time during the 2010-11 regular season Thursday night. UCF snapped its two-game losing streak on Sunday with a 13-point win at Tulsa, 61-48. The win pushed the Knights' conference record to 5-4 and the team into fifth place in the league standings.
Scouting the Miners
UTEP enters the game on a skid of its own, dropping its last two games and three of its last four overall. The Miners fell to UAB by six, 62-56, in their most recent game Sunday afternoon. Gloria Brown leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.5 points per game, while Kayla Thornton's six rebounds a contest lead UTEP. The Miners will be making their first appearance in Orlando since Feb. 24, 2008 and just their third since UCF joined C-USA in 2005.
All-Time Series
The Miners lead the all-time series, 5-1. UCF's lone win came in the first meeting between the two programs as conference rivals on Jan. 15, 2006 when the Knights edged the Miners, 51-46. UTEP has won the last four meetings.
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.
Cracking the Top 10
Senior D'Nay Daniels scored her 1,000th career point at Memphis on Jan. 20, but she also reached another milestone a week and a half later at ECU. Daniels moved into the program's top 10 all-time in scoring with her 16 points against the Pirates. She now ranks 10th in UCF history with 1,062 career points with a chance to move up to sixth by the end of the season.
Second Best Isn't Bad
With four three-pointers at Tulsa, senior guard Chelsie Wiley moved into second place all-time at UCF with 138 in her career. Wiley entered the game with the Golden Hurricane tied for second with Celeste Hudson ('07), but quickly took sole possession of second place with three first-half trifectas. She now trails just Francine Houston (`07), who finished her career with 213 three-pointers.
Golden Win
After two attempts, UCF head coach Joi Williams finally earned her 50th career coaching victory at UCF. Sitting on 49 wins for two straight games, Williams' team picked up the victory in Tulsa in her third attempt. She now has 104 career victories after four seasons at Murray State and three and a half seasons along the UCF sideline.
Missing in Action
The Knights will be without the services of senior guard Angelica Mealing on the court for the rest of the season. Mealing suffered a knee injury that has caused her to miss several of the team's recent games and will sideline her for the remainder of the 2010-11 season.
Road Win
It has been a tough season for UCF away from Orlando. The Knights are just 3-8 in true road games played away from the UCF Arena this year. The win at Tulsa was just the second on the road against a C-USA opponent this season and the first since opening the conference schedule at Rice on Jan. 6.
Jones Joins the Fold
Coming off the bench, freshman forward Erika Jones scored eight points and pulled down a team-high nine boards at Tulsa. The eight points matched a career high for Jones who has now reached that figure four times this season. Her nine rebounds were one shy of her career high of 10, set against Richmond on Nov. 26.
Caldwell Doubles Up
Coming into the season, senior guard Jelisa Caldwell had scored in double figures just five times. Her 11 points at Tulsa gave her her 10th double-digit scoring performance of the season, twice the total of her first three full seasons.