The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Host ACC Foe Virginia Tech Thursday Evening
12/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB women's basketball team will welcome ACC foe Virginia Tech to Bartow Arena on Thursday, December 21 for a non-conference battle before taking a few days off for the holidays. The Blazers and the Hokies will be meeting on the hardwood for the first time with tip-off set for 7 p.m. In addition, UAB athletic wall calendars will be given away to the first 500 fans.
Both teams go into Thursday's matchup riding three-game winning streaks. The Blazers picked up their third consecutive win on December 19 by topping Hampton, 66-47, to claim their fourth consecutive Blazer Invitational championship. Prior to that, UAB gained victories over Mississippi State, 76-70, and Florida Atlantic, 67-52.
Virginia Tech got past East Tennessee State, 78-64, on December 18 for its third straight win. The Hokies winning streak started with a win over Charlotte, 80-68, on December 2 and also included a victory at Liberty, 55-52, on December 5.
With their latest success, the Blazers have improved their record to 3-6 overall. Senior Carmen Guzman is leading UAB and Conference USA in scoring with 21.4 ppg, which also ranks her seventh in the nation in points per game.
Junior Diamond Rogers is the other Blazer averaging double figures with 14.3 ppg and a team-high 6.6 rpg. Sophomore Britney Jones is contributing 8.2 ppg while junior Christon Ingram is putting up 6.9 ppg.
The Hokies are led by senior Kirby Copeland with 15.3 ppg. Copeland is also adding 4.9 rpg and a team-high 5.2 apg. Senior Nare Diawara is sinking over 55 percent of her shots for an average of 11.3 ppg, while grabbing a team-best 7.2 rpg. Senior Britney Andersonm is averaging 11.1 ppg and 4.0 rpg for the year.
Following the Christmas holiday, the Blazers will compete in the University of Virginia Cavalier Classic on December 28-29 in Charlottesville, Va. Joining UAB and Virginia in the tournament will be Maine and Northwestern State.
