The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Mississippi
UAB Drops Home Opener to Ole Miss, 99-85
11/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 14, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Despite getting a whopping 33 points out of senior guard Carmen Guzman, the UAB women's basketball teams dropped its first home game of the season to SEC foe Ole Miss on Tuesday evening, 99-85. The Blazers were right there with the Lady Rebels the entire game, including four lead changes and six tied scores, but eventually fell as Ole Miss began to pull away in the final minutes of the contest.
The ballgame started as a tight back-and-forth battle, but Ole Miss jumped out to as much as an 11-point lead around the eight minute mark. UAB got on a hot streak, chipped away at the Lady Rebels' lead and went into halftime down four, 42-38.
Both squads came out firing in the second half, trying to maintain a lead. Neither team led by more than four points until 5:51 left in the game when a jumper by Ole Miss' Carla Bartee put the Lady Rebels up by six. After that, UAB was unable to get back within five of Ole Miss as the Lady Rebels escaped Bartow Arena with a victory.
Guzman scored a new career-high against the Lady Rebels, hitting 10-of-20 from the floor, including five from behind the arc, to rack up 33 points. The senior from New York, N.Y. also grabbed six rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals on the night.
Junior forward Diamond Rogers also had a career-high game, setting new personal bests with 18 points and seven assists. Freshman guard Fatiha Salaam nabbed double-figures in the points department for the second consecutive game with 11. Freshman forward Erica Simpson rounded out the Blazers in double-digits with 10 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting.
Armintie Price led the way for Ole Miss with 34 points, 16 of which came from the free throw line. Ashley Awkward tallied 23 points and Danetra Forrest hit 5-of-7 for 15 points. Forrest earned herself a double-double by also leading the squad in rebounds with 13.
Overall, UAB shot 42.3 percent compared to the Lady Rebels' 50.8 percent. Ole Miss was on fire during the second half, hitting 18-of-31 shots for 58.1 percent. The Blazers did out-rebound the Lady Rebels, 45-40, including 20 offensive boards.
The Blazers will return to the court on Friday, November 17 when they host Louisiana-Monroe. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Bartow Arena.
