The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Women's Basketball Signs Two Recruits
11/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2004
UAB head women's basketball coach Audra Smith has announced the signing of two more players for the 2005-06 season. The Blazers have received letters of intent from Tamika Dukes and Britney Jones. They join Brianna Berry, who signed with UAB earlier this week.
Dukes is a 6-0 forward from Huffman High School in Birmingham. In her junior campaign, Dukes averaged 19.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest as the Vikings advanced to Regionals for the third-straight year. Dukes hit 57.6 percent of her shots from the floor and 75.6 percent from the free-throw line. She has been named captain of this year's Huffman squad. Dukes has received many awards, including being named an AGS All-America Camp Upperclass All-Star (2004), End of the Trail All-Tournament Team (2004), Street & Smith All-America Honorable Mention (2004), ASWA 6A All-State First Team (2004), Birmingham News 6A All-State Second Team (2004) and the Birmingham News 6A All-Metro First Team (2004).
"I am extremely excited about signing Tamika Dukes," said Smith. "It's good to sign some local talent. She's an outstanding athlete who has the ability to play the 3 and the 4 position. She runs the floor extremely well and rebounds like a mad woman. We're really excited to have her commit to us and she's going to bring a lot to the table for us next season."
Jones, from Marshall High School in Chicago, was recently named one of the 50 best players in Illinois by the Chicago Sun-Times. The 5-7 guard averaged 12 points a contest as her team tallied a 27-5 record in 2003-04. The Commandos were city champions and regional state champions last season. Jones is about to begin her fourth year with the varsity squad and was voted team captain for this season.
"Britney is a great talent and a great scorer," said Smith. "She can knock down the three and is a true point guard who knows how to run a team. She has also spent time at the 2 and 3 position because she is such a great scorer. We got in on Britney late, but convinced her to come to UAB. She's a great get for us. She will really help us continue to run this transition game."
