The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Virginia Tech
UAB Blazes Past Virginia Tech, 70-59
12/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB women's basketball team kept its winning streak alive by topping ACC foe Virginia Tech, 70-59, Thursday evening in Bartow Arena. The Blazers have now won four consecutive games to move to 4-6 overall.
UAB fell behind early, but kept the Hokies within single digits and went into halftime down by five, 34-28. The Blazers first-half struggles could be attributed to just 27.6 percent shooting, compared to 40.5 percent from Tech.
UAB took its first lead of the game with 17:49 left in the second period on a layup by junior Diamond Rogers to put the Blazers up by one, 37-36. Virginia Tech regained the lead and went up by as much as six points at the 14:33 mark before UAB came clawing back to take the lead again, 49-48, with 11:16 left in the contest.
The lead changed hands one more time before UAB took control of the game and went on a 9-0 run that left the Hokies down by eight, 58-50, with 8:25 left on the clock. The Blazers held their largest lead of the contest at the 2:43 mark when a layup by sophomore Britney Jones put them up by 14, 68-54. At the final buzzer, the Blazers left with an 11-point victory over Virginia Tech, 70-59.
The Blazers shot a stellar 53.3 percent in the second half to finish the game with 40.7 percent from the floor. UAB also hit 47.1 percent from three-point range and 77.8 percent from the charity stripe.
Senior Carmen Guzman continued her nationally-ranked point production by putting up 23 against the Hokies. In the latest statistics, Guzman is listed as seventh in Division I in points per game with 21.6.
Jones ended the night with 14 points, three steals and a pair of assists. There were two Blazers that fell just shy of a double-double versus Virginia Tech. Rogers finished with 13 points and nine rebounds while junior Christon Ingram tallied 11 points and nine boards.
Overall, Virginia Tech shot 40.0 percent on the night, including 23.1 percent from beyond the arc and 80.0 percent from the free throw line. The Hokies did hold the advantage on the boards, out-rebounding UAB 42-34.
Senior Kirby Copeland paced the Hokies with 16 points, while freshman Amber Hall knocked down 15. Senior Nare Diawara was the leading rebounder for Tech with 12 and also contributing nine points.
Next on the schedule for the Blazers is a trip to Charlottesville, Va. to compete in the Cavalier Classic at the University of Virginia. UAB's first round game will be against Northwestern State on Thursday, December 28 at 12:30 EST.
