The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Charlotte
UAB Drops Tough Game To Charlotte, 62-56
2/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- Charlotte's Andrea Davidson hit two free throws with 1:04 left in the game to give the 49ers the lead for good as they defeated the UAB women's basketball team, 62-56, in Bartow Arena on Saturday afternoon. For the second-consecutive game Crystal McFadden led the Blazers with a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
UAB (5-17, 2-7) took a 56-55 lead with 1:21 left in the contest on a Lauren Brittingham jumper, but went cold, missing five consecutive shots to end the game. On the other end, Charlotte (19-3, 7-1) hit five-of-six from the free throw line in the final minute to secure the victory.
"I am extremely proud of these women," said UAB head coach Audra Smith. "They fought and they gave me 100 percent. They gave us everything they had and they played a great basketball game. I told them from the very beginning that this game was going to be won on the defensive end and they did a great job defensively. Obviously, I have to credit Charlotte for playing a great basketball game. They had two kids that don't normally score for them step up and knock down some shots."
McFadden had another tremendous game for the Blazers. She was UAB's leading scorer for the third-straight game, hitting 6-of-17 from the floor and an impressive 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Additionally, McFadden had three assists, two steals and a block in 35 minutes of play.
"For us, again we had Crystal McFadden leading the way with a double-double," said Smith. "She has played phenomenally. The rest of the girls, too. We had Katie Billue with eight and Carmen (Guzman) with eight. Carmen is coming off a high ankle sprain and playing in pain. There's not a whole lot more I could ask from them and I have to take full responsibility for this game. In the final minutes there were a couple times there when I should have called a timeout to get the girls settled down a little. If these girls continue to play like they did today, we can beat anybody. Charlotte's the No. 1 team in the conference and we had them on the ropes. We had them here and we should have come out with the win. I can't fault the girls because they gave me everything they had today."
The Blazers were down seven at halftime (27-20), but fought back throughout the second half, taking the lead four different times. UAB hit 36.8 percent from the floor, connecting on 21-of-57 attempts. The Blazers struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 1-of-8.
UAB's defense held the 49ers well below their season shooting average of 41.2, as Charlotte hit a mere 33.9 percent from the floor. The 49ers connected on 21-of-62 attempts from the floor and went 4-of-21 from beyond the arc.
Charlotte were led by Davidson's 18 points, while Pam Brown contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.
Next, the Blazers host East Carolina on Monday at 7 p.m. in Bartow Arena.
