The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Rice
UAB Women's Basketball Rolls Past Rice, 79-66
2/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2007
HOUSTON, Texas - Senior Carmen Guzman recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the UAB women's basketball team over the Rice Owls, 79-66, on Thursday evening at Autry Court. The Blazers improve to 16-11 overall and continue to stand in second place in the Conference USA standings with an 11-4 league record.
"This was big for us to come on the road and get this win over a good Rice team," said UAB head coach Audra Smith. "We just need to take this momentum into Saturday's game against Houston."
Rice used a trio of layups to jump out to an early 12-5 lead over UAB. The Blazers climbed back to tie the game at 22-all at the 9:56 mark on a three-point bucket by freshman Amanda Scott.
UAB took its first lead of the game with 9:08 left in the first half when a layup by Guzman put the Blazers up, 24-22. Going back-and-forth down the stretch of the first half, UAB hit a pair of shots to close out the first period with a four point lead, 43-39.
Krystal Frazier hit the opening shot of the second half for the Owls to make it a two point game, 43-41, but the Blazers went on a 14-3 run to take a 57-44 lead with 14:01 remaining in the game.
UAB went on to hold as much as an 18-point lead, 79-61, with 31 seconds left in the game. Rice hit a pair of jumpers within the last 15 seconds of the contest to make the final score, 79-66, in favor of the Blazers.
Guzman's 26 points extends her streak of double-figure scoring games to 27, including 19 games with 20-plus points. Guzman also contributed three assists and five steals against the Owls.
Junior Diamond Rogers also tallied a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. Rogers went 7-of-9 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range to get to 17 points.
Sophomore Britney Jones was the third Blazer in double figures with 14 points, while also adding four assists, three rebounds and one steal to UAB's effort.
Valeriy Berezhynska scored 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, and also grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Rice. Kadie Riverin also scored in double figures with 12 points and a team-high six assists.
UAB had the hot hand on the night, hitting 48.4 percent of its shots, while Rice sank 39.3 percent of its attempts. The Blazers also held a slight advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the Owls, 39-37.
Next up for the Blazers is their final regular season game at Houston on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion.
