The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Set to Take on Tulsa at C-USA Championship
3/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 7, 2010
2010 UAB Conference USA Tournament Notes | Gametracker | Watch
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB women's basketball team begins its run in the Conference USA Championship on Monday against host and 11th-seeded Tulsa. The two teams square off at 6 p.m. CST at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla.
UAB leads the series, 6-1, and has won the last six dating back to 2003. The Blazers defeated the Golden Hurricane earlier this season, 63-55, on Jan. 9 in Birmingham. The last time the two teams met in Tulsa was in Feb. of 2008 when UAB pulled out a 78-74 double overtime victory. The Blazers are 3-0 against Tulsa at the Reynolds Center.
Interestingly, the Blazers also faced the Golden Hurricane the last time the tournament was at the Reynolds Center in 2007. UAB earned a first-round bye that year as the No. 2 seed, while 10th-seeded Tulsa defeated No. 7 Southern Miss, 73-64, in the opening round. The Blazers edged the Golden Hurricane, 67-65, to advance to the semifinals before falling to third-seeded and eventual champion East Carolina, 85-81.
UAB (14-14, 8-8 C-USA) has won its last three contests, including a 64-53 victory over Memphis on Thursday to close ou the regular season. The Blazers are led by C-USA Freshman and Sixth Player of the Year Jala Harris with 16.4 points a game. Senior forward Tamika Dukes is the team's second-leading scorer at 12.5 points a game.
Tulsa (12-15, 6-10 C-USA) is coming off back-to-back losses to SMU and UCF to end the regular season and earn the No. 11 seed for the tournament. Prior to that, the Golden Hurricane had won six of its last seven, including five straight.
Tulsa is led by forward Larrissa Williams with 17.1 points and 9.1 rebounds a game. Guard Taleya Mayberry is the team's second-leading scorer at 12.4 points a game, while Kara Vaughan tops the team with a 34.8 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
