The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Chattanooga
UAB Women's Basketball Falls To Chattanooga, 80-70
12/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The UAB women's basketball team got as close as two, 42-40, midway through the second half, but Chattanooga went on an 11-1 run to open up the lead and never looked back, as the Lady Mocs defeated the Blazers, 80-70, here on Wednesday evening.
"We were short in numbers tonight, that was one thing that hurt us, but I still feel like the players played very hard," said UAB head coach Audra Smith. "Every game I ask them to give me maximum effort and they're giving me that. We're so very close in these games and for whatever reason we're not able to get over the hump. We're all keeping the faith and I truly believe it's going to click. It may not happen in the next game, it may not happen until January, but I truly believe it's going to click as long as they keep the faith and keep working hard."
Once again, UAB (1-5) was outrebounded by its opponent, as the Lady Mocs had a 50-38 advantage on the boards. The Blazers are now 0-4 on the season when outrebounded by their opponent.
Lauren Brittingham led the Blazers with a career-high 19 points. With only seven available players, UAB had two other players score in double digits, as Diamond Rogers had 12 and Carmen Guzman contributed 10. The Blazers shot 35.4 percent from the floor as a team. They were also 20-of-26 from the charity stripe, 76.9 percent.
"We're trying to get everyone involved offensively," Smith said. "We're trying to make our offense a little more free-flowing; giving them opportunities, especially on the perimeter to look to take it to the basket a lot more. Our strength is our transition game, so we're looking to push the ball as much as we can in transition. On the defensive end, we're looking to be solid defensively. At this point we're giving up too many fouls and sending people to the line too often and that's how most teams are staying in the game right now. We're really focusing on staying solid defensively and pushing the ball in transition."
Katasha Brown led all scorers with 21 points as Chattanooga improved to 3-2 on the season. Laura Hall had 17 points, while Tiffani Roberson added 12. The Lady Mocs were 28-of-65 from the floor, good for 43.1 percent.
Chattanooga took a 33-30 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Lady Mocs and UAB were closely matched in the first 20 minutes, as Chattanooga hit 38.2 percent, while UAB tallied a 36.7 shooting percentage. The Lady Mocs had a 21-19 rebounding advantage, tallying 10 offensive boards compared to UAB's eight.
UAB will face North Carolina State in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday, Dec. 4, at 2 p.m. (ET).
