The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Nashville All-Stars
Women's Basketball Defeats Nashville All-Stars, 103-63
11/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB women's basketball team beat the Nashville All-Stars, 103-63, here on Sunday in its only exhibition game before the start of the 2003-04 season. The Lady Blazers were led by senior Natasha Thomas' 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists in only 22 minutes of play.
"Overall, I think it was a great team effort," said UAB head coach Jeannie Milling. "We got everyone to really contribute. We have seen tremendous improvement where we needed to see improvement. We are scoring a lot better from the perimeter and we rebounded extremely well. Natasha Thomas did what she has to do for us, 25 points in 22 minutes. I am really excited about the overall effort."
UAB's five newcomers introduced themselves to Lady Blazer fans in a big way. UAB's rookies accounted for 67 points, 30 rebounds, 11 assists, seven steals and one block. The entire team totaled 103 points, 56 rebounds, 24 assists, 16 steals and three blocks.
Freshman guard Carmen Guzman was the leading scorer among newcomers, tallying 16 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists and a steal. In addition, junior transfer Gennifer Bridges had 14 points, eight rebounds and two assists at forward. Freshman forward Domaneice Moore just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds. Another freshman guard, Brittany Smith had 16 points in 24 minutes off the bench. While freshman guard Crystal McFadden started the game and contributed 11 points, eight rebounds, four steals, three assists and one block in 24 minutes.
"I am really excited about all of the newcomers," said Milling. "They are fun to watch and they really contributed in all areas today. I think sometimes that offense can be part of your defense, and I think that showed tonight. They all made an immediate impact and know how to play basketball. The more time they get under their belt, the better they will become. Their versatility, scoring ability and athleticism is huge for our team. They're just what we thought they would be."
UAB's defense held the Nashville All-Stars to 38.7 percent shooting from the floor and an anemic 11.1 percent from three-point land. The Lady Blazers also forced 24 turnovers, scoring 35 points on those miscues.
The Lady Blazers begin their regular season on Friday, November 21, against Chattanooga at 7 p.m. in Chattanooga, Tenn.
