The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Women's Hoops Heads to Mexico for Caribbean Classic
12/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB women's basketball team heads to Mexico this week to take part in the Caribbean Classic in Cancun. The Blazers will face Ball State Monday and Illinois State Tuesday with both tip-offs slated for 3:30 p.m. CT.
The Blazers (6-3) have won four in a row, including a 67-64 victory over Clemson in their last outing on Wednesday. Sophomore guard Jala Harris continues to lead the Blazers with 15.0 points per game, while junior center Meagan Brown is the leader on the boards at 6.2 rebounds per game.
Senior guard Amanda Peterson needs just nine 3-pointers to break the school's career record of 245 held by Gina Sutko. Peterson also needs just 16 points to crack 1,000 for her career.
Monday's meeting marks the first between UAB and Ball State since 2001, when Ball State earned a 77-68 win at the FIU Sun and Fun Classic in Miami. In the first meeting between the two teams in 1996, UAB claimed a 68-53 win at Bartow Arena.
The Cardinals (4-5) are coming off a 105-98 double overtime loss to Butler on Dec. 12. Ball State has dropped three of its last four decisions, with the only win during the stretch coming against SIU-Edwardsville on Dec. 5.
Emily Maggert leads the Cardinals with an average of 15.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Maggert has been the team's top scorer in seven games this season and the top rebounder eight times. Ty'Ronda Benning is also averaging double digits for the Cardinals at 10.6 points per game.
Tuesday's meeting will mark the first between UAB and Illinois State.
The Redbirds (5-2) have won back-to-back games, including a 77-51 win over Ball State in their last outing on Dec. 9. Prior to the matchup against UAB, Illinois State will face Nevada on Monday in the Caribbean Classic.
ISU has four players averaging double figures, led by Emily Hanley with 14.0 points per game. Katie Broadway (13.6), Shala Jackson (13.0) and Kenyatta Shelton (10.3) round out the top scorers for the Redbirds. Shelton also leads the team with 8.6 rebounds per game.
