The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
UCF
Guzman Scores 20, Blazers Defeat UCF, 58-44
2/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB women's basketball team fought off a feisty UCF Golden Knights squad, 58-44, Thursday evening in Bartow Arena to move to 15-10 overall and 10-3 in Conference USA play. The Blazers continue to maintain their second place standing in the league, just one game behind first-place Tulane (11-2).
Senior Carmen Guzman continued her sharp-shooting with 20 points, accompanied by 10 rebounds, for her second consecutive double-double and her fourth of the season. Guzman, who came into the UCF matchup ranked seventh in the nation with 21.7 ppg, extended her streak of double figure scoring games to 25 and has surpassed the 20-point mark 18 times during her senior year.
The first half was a one-sided story, with UAB out-scoring the Golden Knights 34-15. The Blazers were up by as much as 22 points, 30-8, with 2:46 left in the half. UCF did not reach double figures until the 2:33 mark when a layup by Shante Cummings gave the Golden Knights 10 points.
The Blazers were led by Guzman with 11 points in the first 20 minutes, while also adding six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Junior Diamond Rogers was close behind with eight points and junior LaKitha Murray added seven points during the first period.
The Golden Knights, who sunk just four baskets in the first half (.143) and were 6-of-12 from the charity stripe, were paced by Amber Long with seven points and four boards. Francine Houston and Cummings contributed four points each for UCF.
UCF came out in the second half and made the game interesting, going on a 19-8 run to cut the Blazers' lead to eight, 42-34, with 13:01 left in the contest. The Golden Knights inched even closer, coming within four points on a layup by Houston at the 11:27 mark, 44-40. Solid defense and key shots by UAB preserved the win for the Blazers, 58-44.
"We expected that," said UAB head coach Audra Smith. "The same thing happened when we played down there earlier this year. UCF was not going to come out and shoot as poorly as they did in the first half. We knew that they were going to come out and fight.
"We needed to get some things going during the second half. We increased our defensive pressure, hit some shots and finished with the win."
In addition to 20 points and 10 rebounds, Guzman also added a game-high five assists and four steals. Rogers finished with 15 points, nine boards, two assists and one steals, while tying her career-high with four blocks against UCF.
Junior Christon Ingram tallied her second consecutive game with double-digit rebounds, grabbing 10 boards versus the Golden Knights. Murray finished the night with seven points and freshman Erica Simpson chipped in five points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Houston led the Golden Knights with 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting, including a pair of treys. Long ended with a double-double, scoring 10 points and snatching 10 boards against the Blazers.
Overall, UAB hit 21-of-68 for 30.9 shooting percentage. The Blazers sunk 21.4 percent from beyond the arc and 62.5 percent from the free throw line, led by Guzman hitting 5-of-6.
Despite shooting just 14.3 percent in the first half, the Golden Knights finished the game with a 27.0 shooting percentage, courtesy of hitting 13-of-35 (.371) in the second half. UCF hit just 3-of-15 from three-point range (.200) and 41.2 percent from the free throw line.
The Blazers will play their final home game of the season on Saturday, February 17 when they host Southern Miss at 6 p.m. in Bartow Arena. The game will also serve as Senior Night as UAB will honor seniors Carmen Guzman, Shimena Moore and Candace White before tip-off.
"We just need to control our emotions against Southern Miss," said Smith. "We know it's going to be a physical game. We know it's going to be a close, hard-fought game. That's the way it was at Southern Miss earlier this season.
"We know what we need to do to win. On Saturday, we are going to come out, leave it all on the floor and see what happens."
