Wednesday, October 12, 2011

KNIGHTS 3RD IN PRE-SEASON POLL

The reigning Conference-USA championship women's basketball team was selected third in the C-USA preseason poll, announced by the league on Thursday. The ranking marks the best showing the Knights have garnered since joining the conference in 2005.

Senior forward Aisha Patrick was one of eight student-athletes recognized on the C-USA Preseason Team. The honor marks the first preseason accolade of her career.

The Knights lost five seniors from last season's memorable team, who produced a 20-plus win year for the first time since 1984, but return one of the premier players in the league in Patrick. As a junior, Patrick became the first UCF player to earn C-USA All Defensive Team honors.

The Rockledge, Fla., native ranked among the league's top 10 in steals (2.7/4th), assists (5.0/5th), rebounds (9.7/6th) and field goal percentage (.571/8th) in tournament play last season.

UCF received one first place vote while Memphis and Rice were predicted to finish first and second, respectively. Complete preseason poll and team information can be found below.

The Knights tip off the season with a home exhibition game against Lynn University on Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. The regular season home opener is slated for Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. against Florida A&M. UCF will play 18 home games and will also welcome Hartford, Florida Gulf Coast, Virginia Tech and Florida State just before the New Year. Fans can ensure that they don't miss a minute of play by purchasing their season tickets today by calling (407) UCF-1000 or by visiting UCFAthletics.com.

Fans can get a preview of both the men's and women's teams before November at UKnight Madness on Friday, Oct. 14.

2011-12 C-USA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
1. Memphis (7)
2. Rice (3)
3. UCF (1)
t4. Tulane (1)
t4. UTEP
6. UAB
7. Houston
8. SMU
9. Southern Miss
10. East Carolina
11. Tulsa
12. Marshall
(#) denotes first-place votes

2011-12 C-USA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON TEAMPorsche Landry, Sr. G- Houston
Brittany Carter, Sr. G - Memphis
Jasmine Lee, RS Sr. P - Memphis
Jessica Kuster, So. F - Rice
Christine Elliott, Sr. P -SMU
Rachel Vigers, Sr. F - Southern Miss
Aisha Patrick, Sr. G -UCFGloria Brown, Sr.G - UTEP