The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts Annual Blazer Invitational Monday And Tuesday
12/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - After 12 days off for final exams, the UAB women's basketball team will return to action by hosting its annual Blazer Invitational Monday and Tuesday at Bartow Arena. Along with the Blazers, participating teams include Delaware State, Louisiana-Monroe and St. John's.
Louisiana-Monroe and St. John's will open the tournament at 4:00 p.m. Monday, followed by a 6:00 p.m. game featuring UAB and Delaware State.
The winners of the two first round games will meet on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. in the championship contest. The consolation game will be held at 4:00 p.m., just prior to the championship match-up.
Monday's game will mark the first meeting between the Blazers and the Lady Hornets. UAB is holding a 2-7 overall record that includes wins over Illinois and Lipscomb. Delaware State is 3-4 on the year and is 1-3 in games away from its home court.
At the helm of the Lady Hornets is eighth-year head coach Ed Davis. Davis has accumulated a 126-90 record at Delaware State and a 297-144 record during his 16 years as a head coach.
Pacing Delaware State on the floor is senior guard/forward Raquel Collier with 15.2 ppg and senior forward Katreem Palmer with 13.4 ppg. Leading the Lady Hornets on the boards is sophomore forward/center Thea Littlepage with 8.6 rpg.
Louisiana-Monroe is posting a record of 6-2 overall, including winning its last two games on the road at Northwestern State and at Louisiana Tech. Led by 13th-year head coach Mona Martin, the Warhawks and the Blazers have met on five previous occasions, with ULM leading the all-time series 4-1.
The Warhawks have three players scoring in double figures, led by sophomore guard Jesse Carrier with 11.9 ppg. Senior center Shannon Lloyd is adding 10.4 ppg and a team-best 8.1 rpg, while sophomore guard Regena Jackson is putting up 10.1 ppg and a team-high 2.4 spg.
St. John's is 7-2 on the year, including getting a key win over then-No. 24 North Carolina State on Nov. 17. Head coach Kim Barnes Arico is in her sixth year leading the Red Storm and has a 75-78 career record at St. John's. If the Blazers and the Red Storm play each other, it will be the first meeting between the two schools.
Junior guard Monique McLean leads the Red Storm with 16.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Sky Lindsay is making an immediate impact for St. John's by averaging 10.2 ppg and leading the team with 2.8 apg.
UAB has been very successful in its own Blazer Invitational throughout the years, including winning the tournament title the past four seasons. In 2003-04, UAB topped Brown and UT-Martin to claim the title, while successfully defending its title in 2004-05 against Tennessee State and Furman and getting the three-peat in 2005-06 over Alabama A&M and Middle Tennessee State. Most recently, UAB earned wins over Florida Atlantic and Hampton to keep the title in Birmingham in 2006-07. The last time the Blazers lost in their own tournament was to Troy, 55-54, on December 20, 2002.
Monday's games will also feature a warm clothing drive. There will be designated areas in Bartow Arena where warm clothing will be accepted and donated to Jessie's Place.
