The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Northwestern State
UAB Wins Fifth Straight, Tops Northwestern State 84-77
12/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The UAB women's basketball team continued its winning streak by picking up its fifth consecutive victory on Thursday, 84-77, over the Lady Demons of Northwestern State in the first round of the University of Virginia's Marriott Cavalier Classic. The Blazers will face the winner of the Maine/Virginia matchup in the championship game on Friday, December 29 at 7 p.m.
Sophomore guard Britney Jones set a new career high and finished second on the squad in scoring against the Lady Demons with 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Jones also added five steals, four rebounds and four assists in UAB's opening round victory.
"Our team has bought into the system," said UAB head coach Audra Smith. "They have built up their confidence and they know they can handle the ball. We have achieved this winning streak with our defense."
Northwestern State had the hot hand during the first 20 minutes of action, sinking 65.5 percent of its shots to take a 45-38 lead into halftime. Jones hit 8-of-10 in the first half of play, accounting for 22 of UAB's 38 points.
The Blazers came out in the second half and tied the game up at 50-all within the first five minutes. UAB continued its dominance of the second period, going up by as much as 11 points multiple times late in the game. Free throws down the stretch secured the Blazers' win over Northwestern State, 84-77.
"I am elated that we were able to turn it around," said Smith. "We did it with our defense. I take the blame for starting us off in a zone when we were a bit flat-footed, but as soon as we made the change to man-to-man, the women responded."
Along with Jones, there were three other Blazers in double figures. Senior Carmen Guzman had a team-high 29 points, including 22 second-half points to lead the Blazers' comeback. Junior Christon Ingram had 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds, while junior Diamond Rogers tallied 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Chassidy Jones led Northwestern State with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, while also grabbing a team-high eight boards. Tena Matthews had 15 points and Akilah Givens chipped in 13 towards the Lady Demons' effort.
Northwestern State held the overall edge in shooting, hitting 50.0 percent of its shots throughout the game. UAB sank 29-of-60 shots for a 48.3 shooting percentage. The Blazers also edged out the Lady Demons on the boards, 35-29.
"It's great that we were able to limit them to eight offensive rebounds," said Smith. "That is a category that we have been working on. Only six came from the field of play, so that is a positive stat for us."
Northwestern State will face the Maine in the consolation game at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. UAB will take on Virginia at 7 p.m. for the tournament championship.
