The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Women's Basketball Releases 2004-05 Schedule
8/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Aug. 21, 2004
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB women's basketball team officially released its 2004-05 season schedule on Saturday. The Blazers, under the leadership of first-year head coach Audra Smith, are coming off of a 9-19 season but return two starters and seven letterwinners from last season. UAB's schedule features eight home games and 14 road contests. The Blazers will also participate in two tournaments, traveling to Fort Collins, Colo., for the Colorado State University Tournament on Nov. 26-27, and then hosting the Blazer Invitational on Dec. 29-30 at Bartow Arena. UAB opens the season on Friday, Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. versus Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, Ky. The Blazers' home-opener is set for Sunday, Nov. 21 against Ole Miss at 2 p.m. UAB then visits Tennessee Tech on Nov. 23 in Cookeville, Tenn., before taking part in the Colorado State University Tournament. The Blazers will face Holy Cross at 5 p.m. on Nov. 26 followed by Iona versus host Colorado State. The consolation and championship will be held on Nov. 27. The Blazers play Chattanooga on Dec. 1 at home and then have four straight road games, as UAB faces North Carolina State, Alabama, Kentucky, and South Alabama in that order. The Blazer Invitational features Alabama State versus Furman at 5 p.m. on Dec. 29 and then UAB against Tennessee State in the nightcap at 7 p.m. The Blazers defeated both Brown and Tennessee-Martin to win the 2003 Blazer Invitational. UAB takes a visit to Georgia Tech on Jan. 3 before beginning conference play on Fri. Jan. 7 versus Cincinnati at Bartow Arena. The Blazers take on Louisville on Jan. 9 at 2 p.m. to complete their first conference weekend of the season. UAB faces Houston and TCU on the road on Jan. 14 and 16, and then comes home to play Memphis (Jan. 21) and Saint Louis (Jan. 23). The Blazers end the month of January away from home with games against DePaul on Jan. 28 and Marquette on Jan. 30. UAB plays host to Charlotte on Sat. Feb. 5 and East Carolina on Feb. 7 and then plays Southern Miss and Tulane (Feb. 11 and 13) in the final road weekend of the season. UAB entertains South Florida on Sunday, Feb. 20 on Senior Day. The Blazers then face USF on Feb. 26 in the regular-season finale in Tampa, Fla. The Conference USA Tournament will be held March 3-6 in Charlotte, N.C. UAB returns its second-leading scorer from last season, sophomore guard Crystal McFadden (13.0 ppg), who also led the team with 43 steals a year ago. The other returning starter is fellow sophomore guard Carmen Guzman. The native of New York City, N.Y., averaged 8.1 ppg and tallied 77 assists, which was second-best on the squad. Brittany Smith is one of several key returnees. The sophomore recorded a team-best 37 three pointers and averaged 6.1 ppg. UAB's roster includes seven newcomers; six true freshmen and one junior. Smith takes over for the departed Jeannie Milling and is the fifth coach in Blazer history. Smith comes to UAB from the University of Virginia, where she served as an assistant coach since 1994. The Milledgeville, Ga., native was a member of the Virginia women's basketball team in the early 1990s. She helped lead her team to three Final Four appearances during her playing career including a trip to the 1991 National Championship game, in which UVA fell to Tennessee, 70-67 in overtime. UAB opens its 27th season of basketball on Friday, Nov. 19 at Western Kentucky. The Blazers are facing the Lady Toppers for the first time since the 1991 season.
