The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Announces 2011-12 Women's Basketball Schedule
9/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sept. 28, 2011
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB women's basketball team will compete in the Preseason WNIT, host a tournament over Thanksgiving weekend and play at least 12 regular-season home games at Bartow Arena, according to the 2011-12 schedule announced on Wednesday.
The first chance to see the Blazers comes Nov. 4 in the team's only exhibition game against UAH at Bartow Arena.
UAB will then hit the road to open the regular season Nov. 11 at Chattanooga in the first round of the Preseason WNIT. The Blazers, who will play either Baylor or Howard in their second WNIT contest, are guaranteed at least three games in the 16-team event that runs through Nov. 20. It will be UAB's second appearance in the Preseason WNIT and its first since the 1999-2000 season.
"We're extremely excited to be playing in the Preseason WNIT," eighth-year UAB coach Audra Smith said. "It has a field full of outstanding talent that will provide an early challenge for us and prepare us for what is to come later in conference play."
The Blazers will co-host the UAB/Samford Classic the weekend of Nov. 25-26 with all games played at Bartow Arena. UAB and Samford do not play each other but will both match up with Southeast Missouri and Western Kentucky at the two-day event.
The remainder of UAB's non-conference home schedule includes a Dec. 15 contest with Alabama A&M and a Dec. 19 meeting with defending MEAC champion Hampton. The Blazers will go on the road for non-conference games at Morehead State (Nov. 30), Austin Peay (Dec. 3), UNC Greensboro (Dec. 6), Clemson (Dec. 30) and Florida A&M (Jan. 2).
The Blazers begin their 16-game Conference USA slate at home Jan. 5 against Rice, which finished third in last year's league standings. It is the first game in a six-game stretch for UAB against the league's top six teams from a year ago. The stretch also includes home games Jan. 12 against UCF (2nd in 2010-11) and Jan. 22 against Memphis (6th) in addition to road contests Jan. 8 at East Carolina (T-4th), Jan. 15 at Houston (1st) and Jan. 19 at Tulane (T-4th).
"Our league is one of the most competitive in the country every year from top to bottom," Smith said. "Every time you step on the floor, you can beat any team and any team can beat you. It's always wide open, and that's what makes our conference so good."
The home conference schedule also includes contests against Memphis (Jan. 22), Southern Miss (Jan. 29), East Carolina (Feb. 9), SMU (Feb. 16) and Marshall (Feb. 19). The Blazers then close the regular season at Bartow Arena with their conference finale March 1 against UTEP.
The remainder of UAB's road league schedule features trips to Tulsa (Jan. 26), Marshall (Feb. 5), UCF (Feb. 12), Memphis (Feb. 23) and Southern Miss (Feb. 26).
The Conference USA Championship is scheduled for March 7-10 in Memphis, Tenn.
Led by Houston and UCF, which earned NCAA tournament berths, a total of six C-USA schools competed in the postseason last year, including UAB in the WBI. The Blazers won four straight games to win the WBI championship and finish the season with a 20-15 record.
