Blazers Hosting Thanksgiving Women's Hoops Tourney

Nov. 23, 2011

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB women's basketball team is set to host the UAB Thanksgiving Classic this Friday and Saturday at Bartow Arena.

The Blazers welcome Samford, Southeast Missouri and Western Kentucky for the two-day event. UAB will not play the crosstown rival Bulldogs but will meet the other two teams.

The action gets underway Friday at 3:30 p.m. as Samford takes on Western Kentucky, with UAB and Southeast Missouri to follow at 6 p.m.

Tournament Schedule
Friday, Nov. 25
3:30 p.m. -- Western Kentucky vs. Samford
6:00 p.m. -- Southeast Missouri vs. UAB

Saturday, Nov. 26
2:00 p.m. -- Southeast Missouri vs. Samford
4:30 p.m. -- Western Kentucky vs. UAB

Live Coverage
Live video and Gametracker live stats available online at www.uabsports.com.

Series Information (Southeast Missouri)
 UAB and Southeast Missouri have never met before in women's basketball. Friday's meeting will be the first between the teams.

Series Information (Western Kentucky)
 UAB trails 12-3 in the all-time series with Western Kentucky that dates back to an 82-71 UAB road win in the 1981-82 season.
 The former Sun Belt rivals played throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
 After UAB's victory in the inaugural meeting, Western Kentucky won 10 in a row until the teams split a pair of contests in the 1990-91 season.
 The teams then did not meet again until the mid 2000s with WKU earning a 92-50 home victory in the 2003-04 season and UAB posting a 66-61 win at home in the most recent meeting back in the 2004-05 campaign.
 UAB is 1-7 against the Lady Toppers in Birmingham and 1-2 in games played at Bartow Arena.

Getting Started
 This weekend's action is the first of the season for UAB at Bartow Arena with Friday's contest against Southeast Missouri serving as the Blazers' home opener.
 UAB split two Preseason WNIT consolation games last weekend in Lake Charles, La., defeating East Tennessee State, 59-47, last Friday and falling to McNeese State in overtime, 61-56, last Saturday.
 Senior guard LaShaunda Pratt scored a career-high 24 points and connected on a career-best five 3-pointers in last Saturday's loss at McNeese State.
 UAB overcame an 18-point halftime deficit at McNeese State to take a one-point lead late in regulation and a two-point lead early in overtime before falling.
 Pratt enters the game as UAB's leading scorer with an average of 15.0 points per game.
 UAB has dominated the offensive glass, averaging 16 offensive rebounds per game, while limiting its opponents to 9.3 offensive boards per contest.
 The Blazers have also taken care of the basketball, turning the ball over an average of 12.3 times per game. UAB has had single-digit turnovers in two of its first three games.
 The Blazers' six turnovers against Chattanooga (11/11) were the fewest by a UAB team since a five-turnover performance versus Tulsa on Feb. 12, 2009.
 UAB returns nine letterwinners this season and five players with significant starting experience.
 The Blazers are coming off their first 20-win season since the 2000-01 campaign after posting a 20-15 record last year.
 UAB closed last season with four consecutive postseason wins (the first three on the road) to claim the 2011 Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) title. The Blazers returned home to defeat Cal State Bakersfield in the tournament's championship game.
 Guard Amber Jones returns as the Blazers' top scorer after averaging 12.5 points per game, while UAB also brings back C-USA All-Freshman Team selection Karisma Chapman at forward.

ABOUT THE BLAZERS
UAB enters its tournament this weekend with a record of 1-2 after concluding play in the Preseason WNIT last weekend. The Blazers posted a consolation victory over East Tennessee State, 59-47, last Friday before falling to McNeese State in overtime, 61-56, last Saturday on the Cowgirls' home floor.

Three UAB players come into the weekend averaging double-figure scoring, led by senior guard LaShaunda Pratt with 15.0 points per game. Junior guard Amber Jones is adding 14.7 points per game with sophomore forward Karisma Chapman chipping in 10.3 points per contest.

The Blazers are limiting opponents to 57.7 points per game and scoring 58.0. UAB has been out-rebounded (118-112) by its opponents but has grabbed 20 more offensive boards (48-28) than the opposition. Defense is keeping UAB in games as it looks to improve on its 32 percent shooting in the season's early going.

SCOUTING SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
Southeast Missouri enters the weekend with an 0-4 record after suffering a 51-43 home loss to Ole Miss on Monday. The Redhawks, which have played three of their first four on the road, also have losses to NC State, Saint Louis and UIC. SEMO is coming off an 8-21 finish last season and a 4-14 Ohio Valley Conference mark.

This season, SEMO is averaging 42.8 points per game and allowing 60.0 points per contest. Bailie Roberts leads the Redhawks in scoring with 12.0 points per contest and is tied for the team rebounding lead with Courtney Shiffer at 5.8 boards per game.

SCOUTING WESTERN KENTUCKY
Western Kentucky is also 0-4 and enters this weekend looking for its first win. The Lady Toppers dropped an 86-66 decision at home to Wright State on Tuesday and also have losses to Towson, Northwestern and eighth-ranked Duke. WKU is coming off a 15-17 record a year ago and a third-place finish in the Sun Belt East division with a 9-7 league mark.

LaTeira Owens is nearly averaging a double-double through four games and tops Western Kentucky in both scoring (12.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.5 ppg). Dana Fothergill adds 9.5 points per contest for WKU. The Lady Toppers are allowing 76.0 points per game and scoring 59.8.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics

Blazers Hosting Thanksgiving Women's Hoops Tourney

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