Alabama
UCF
Women's Basketball Edges UCF, 64-62
12/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 14, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. - Women's basketball picked up its first road win of the 2009 season with a 64-62 victory against UCF on Monday night in the UCF Arena. With the win, the Crimson Tide improves to 6-4 on the season, while the Knights drop to 2-4 overall.
"This was a great win for our team," said head coach Wendell Hudson. "We had some really tough practices this week and they paid off in the game. I thought we played great on the defensive end and really showed some toughness out there tonight. Overall, I think this is the best team effort we've had thus far this season."
UCF had possession of the ball and called its final timeout with 10.3 seconds left on the clock, but the Knights were unable to get a shot off following the break in play as Alabama executed its defense perfectly.
"They (UCF) really didn't get a good look at the basket during the final possession," added Hudson. "We did a great job of playing defense and not allowing their key players get a touch on the ball. I thought Ericka Russell made a great defensive play right at the end to not allow them to get that shot off."
Three Tide players finished with double-figure points in the game led by juniors LaToya King and Varisia Raffington with 12 apiece followed by junior Tierney Jenkins with 10 points. Jenkins narrowly missed a double-double as she grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Both teams shot well in the game, but Alabama finished slightly higher at 44.3 percent to UCF's 43.9 percent. In addition, the Tide edged the Knights in rebounds 38-37.
UCF led to start the game, but Alabama eventually found its way in front at the 15:10 mark of the first half thanks to a jumper from King. The Tide continued to stay ahead and went up by as many as 11 before the Knights strung together a 15-3 run to take the 29-28 lead with 3:26 remaining until intermission. Both teams would score an additional pair of points setting the score at 31-30 heading into the break.
Raffington drained a three-pointer with just over three minutes off the clock in the second to put Alabama back on top 35-33. The Tide would, again, extend its lead to double digits going up by 10 at the 8:33 mark. UCF cut its deficit to two points on four occasions, but would not get any closer for the duration of the contest.
Next up, Alabama heads to Tallahassee, Fla. to take on Florida A&M on Wednesday, Dec. 16. Tipoff is slated for 5:00 p.m. (CST).
