The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Travel To Central Arkansas For WBI First Round
3/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 16, 2011
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB women's basketball team is set to face the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears Thursday at 7 p.m. in the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) in Conway, Ark. The Blazers earned the East No. 2 seed and are one of 16 teams invited to participate in the second annual postseason tournament.
Thursday's meeting will mark the first between the two teams.
The Blazers currently stand at 16-15 and finished tied for seventh in Conference USA at 7-9. UAB earned the No. 7 seed for last week's 2011 Buick C-USA Women's Basketball Championship and defeated No. 10 seed Marshall, 56-45, in the first round. Last Thursday, the Blazers took a 15-point lead into halftime against No. 2 seed UCF in the quarterfinals before falling, 51-47, to the Knights, who went on to win the tournament title.
UAB has maintained a stifling defense throughout the season, allowing opponents just 55.7 points per game. On the offensive end, the Blazers are led by sophomore guard Amber Jones, averaging 11.9 points per game. Junior center Meagan Brown tops the team in rebounding at 5.6 boards per game.
The Sugar Bears received the East No. 7 seed after ending their run in the Southland Conference Tournament with a 21-11 overall and 11-5 league record. They took a six-game winning streak into the Southland title game on Friday before falling to the McNeese State Cowgirls, 71-50.
This season marked the first that UCA is eligible for NCAA Division I postseason play, having completed the reclassification process after moving up from NCAA Division II.
UCA is led by Southland Conference Player of the Year Megan Herbert. Herbert leads the team in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (10.8 rpg).
Wright State earned the East No. 1 seed, while Cleveland State is the No. 1 seed in the West Region. Last year, C-USA foe Memphis earned the West No. 1 seed for the tournament and made it to the title game before falling to East No. 1 seed Appalachian State, 79-71.
The single-elimination tournament will take place over two weeks with all games being played on campus sites. The first round matchups will take place March 16-17 and the second round will follow March 19-20 with the championship game tentatively scheduled for March 26 or 27.
