The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Women's Hoops Heads To UTEP For Sunday Showdown
2/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2011
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- After a week-long break from action, the UAB women's basketball team returns to the hardwood on Sunday against Conference USA foe UTEP. The Blazers and Miners tip off at 1:05 p.m. MT/2:05 CT at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.
The series between UTEP and UAB is tied at 3-3. The home team has won each of the six contests, with the Miners earning a 68-59 victory last year in El Paso. With the series traditionally alternating locations each season, this marks the first time the Blazers will play in El Paso in back-to-back years. UAB is 0-3 against UTEP at the Don Haskins Center.
In their last outing, the Blazers (10-11, 2-6 C-USA) rolled to a 74-46 win over Marshall last Sunday. Sophomore guard Amber Jones led UAB with 22 points in the contest, just one shy of her career-high. Jones leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.3 points per game.
UAB currently tops C-USA in scoring defense, allowing just 58.7 points per game. The Blazers also rank third in the league in turnover margin (3.62) and fewest turnovers per game (16.1).
The Miners bring a 12-8 overall and 4-4 C-USA record into Sunday's contest. UTEP is coming off a 69-63 loss at Tulane last Sunday. UTEP led by as many as 11 in the first half and by five with 6:02 left in regulation, but the Green Wave outscored UTEP 17-6 the rest of the way to earn the victory. The Miners have yet to string together consecutive wins in league action, winning every other C-USA contest.
Gloria Brown leads the Miners with 11.5 points per game, and Dietra Caldwell is right on her heels at 10.0 points per game. Brown also is the team's second-leading rebounder with 5.6 rebounds per game behind Kayla Thornton's 6.1 boards per game.
