The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Take On Auburn In Second Round Of WNIT Sunday
3/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 17, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB women's basketball team will travel to Auburn, Ala. to take on the Tigers of Auburn University on Sunday afternoon in the second round of the 2007 Women's National Invitation Tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT at the Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.
The Blazers earned the trip to Auburn after defeating the Davidson Wildcats, 81-77, Thursday evening at Bartow Arena in a first-round game. Auburn received a first-round bye and will open its postseason play against the Blazers on Sunday.
UAB and Auburn have clashed 28 times on the hardwood, with the Tigers holding the all-time series advantage, 24-4. The previous meeting was on December 3, 2002 in Auburn, Ala., where the Tigers got a 76-58 win over the Blazers. The last time UAB defeated Auburn was by a count of 57-56 on January 15, 1992 in Bartow Arena.
The Blazers and the Tigers are posting identical records of 19-12. UAB, who is led by third-year head coach Audra Smith, finished second in Conference USA with a league mark of 12-4, which marks the most wins in C-USA in school history. The Blazers, who earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, fell to eventual-champions, East Carolina, 85-81 in the semifinal round.
UAB is paced by 2007 Conference USA Player of the Year and Kodak/WBCA All-America finalist, Carmen Guzman, who ranks 10th in the nation in scoring with 21.5 ppg. Guzman has a current streak of 31 consecutive double-digit scoring games and has reached the 20-point plateau on 22 occasions this season.
The Blazers also count on junior Diamond Rogers, who is second on the team with 15.4 ppg and grabs a team-high 8.0 rebounds per contest. Rogers, a second-team All-C-USA selection, has recorded new career-high numbers in every category this season, including 24 double-figure scoring games and a team-best 10 double-doubles on the year.
Third-year head coach Nell Fortner is at the helm of the Auburn Tigers, who recorded a ninth-place 6-8 record in the Southeastern Conference and was ousted from the SEC tournament in the first round by South Carolina, 65-63.
The Tigers are led by DeWanna Bonner, who is averaging team-high numbers in both points and rebounds, with 14.9 ppg and 8.2 rpg. Sherell Hobbs is also averaging double figures this season with 11.4 ppg, while also adding 4.3 boards per outing.
Listen to all the Blazer action live, via internet radio, on www.uabsports.com. Reid Adair and Derrick Broom will be calling the game for UAB.
