The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers, Knights Battle Thursday At Bartow
1/11/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2012
Game Notes 
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB women's basketball team hosts UCF for a 7 p.m. CT tipoff Thursday at Bartow Arena as Conference USA action continues.
The Blazers (11-3, 2-0 C-USA) are one of three C-USA teams without a loss in league play following a 44-39 win at East Carolina over the weekend. The Knights (6-8, 1-1 C-USA) are coming off a 64-52 loss at Tulane.
Game Information
UAB vs. UCF
Thursday, Jan. 12 @ 7 p.m. CT
Birmingham, Ala. (Bartow Arena)
Live Coverage
Gametracker live stats and Blazer Vision streaming video available at uabsports.com.
Series Information
• UAB owns an 11-7 lead in the all-time series with UCF, including a 4-3 mark against the Knights in seven previous games in Birmingham.
• The Blazers won 10 of the first 11 meetings in the history of the series, but the Knights have won six of the past seven contests, including the last four in a row.
• UCF defeated UAB three times last season with all of the wins by 10 points or fewer and two by less than five points. The Knights won 65-55 in Orlando (1/13/11), 53-50 in Birmingham (2/24/11) and 51-47 in the Conference USA tournament in El Paso, Texas (3/10/11).
About the Blazers
UAB puts its 5-0 home record on the line Thursday night, continuing conference play against UCF. The Blazers, winners of 11 of their past 12 games, enter the contest at 11-3 (2-0 C-USA) and fresh off a 44-39 road win Sunday at East Carolina.
Sophomore forward Karisma Chapman (14.4 ppg) and junior guard Amber Jones (14.2 points per game) pace the Blazers on the offensive end. Chapman has led UAB in scoring in five of the past six games.
Defensively, the Blazers have allowed more than 47 points just three times all season and only once in the past 11 games. UAB, which ranks No. 4 in the country in scoring defense and No. 21 in field goal percentage defense, has held four of its opponents, including ECU in its most recent outing, below 40 points.
Scouting UCF
UCF enters the second week of league play at 6-8 overall (1-1 C-USA) following a 64-52 loss Sunday at Tulane. The defending C-USA tournament champion defeated East Carolina in its first conference game by a 59-53 score.
The Knights feature two double-figure scorers in Aisha Patrick (14.9 ppg) and Gevenia Carter (10.2). Patrick is also second on the team in rebounding (8.6 per game), while Erika Jones paces the team with 9.6 boards per contest.
UCF is scoring 54.6 points per game on the offensive end and allowing 60.0 points per outing. On the boards, the Knights are out-rebounding their opponents by an average of 4.4 per game.
Getting Started
• At 11-3, the Blazers have matched the third-best start through 14 games in program history. Only the 1981-82 team (13-1) and the 1994-95 squad (12-2) started better.
• Dating back to last season, UAB has won 15 of its past 18 games and 22 of its past 29 contests.
• UAB is the top team in Conference USA and fourth nationally in scoring defense, surrendering just 46.9 points per game for the season. The Blazers also rank 21st in the country in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 33.6 percent for the year.
• UAB has held an opponent to fewer than 40 points in a game 12 times in program history, and four of those instances -- more than any other season -- have occurred through just 14 games this year.
• UAB held Rice to 11 first-half points in the Jan. 5 victory over the Owls, matching the fewest points ever surrendered by the Blazers in one half.
• UAB's trio of sophomore forward Karisma Chapman (14.4 ppg), junior guard Amber Jones (14.2 ppg) and senior guard LaShaunda Pratt (10.6 ppg) have accounted for 66.7 percent of the Blazers' scoring with 533 of the team's 801 points on the year.
• Karisma Chapman has reached the 20-point mark in three of the past six games and is scoring 16.8 points per contest over that stretch.
• Amber Jones is closing in on the 1,000-point mark for her career. She surpassed 900 points Dec. 30 at Clemson and now sits at 941.
• Karisma Chapman scored 24 points and Amber Jones had 23 in the Jan. 2 loss at Florida A&M. It was the first time two UAB players scored at least 20 points in a game since March 9, 2010 against SMU in the C-USA tournament when Jones scored 23 points and Tamika Dukes had 21.
• UAB put an eight-game winning streak together from Nov. 25-Dec. 30. It was UAB's longest winning streak in 17 years and just the sixth streak of at least eight games in program history.
• During its eight-game winning streak, UAB held opponents to an average of 41.4 points and 31.4 percent shooting. Not one of the eight opponents scored more than 47 points or made more than 38 percent of its shots.
• The Blazers lead Conference USA with 6.0 made 3-pointers per game. The team fell just shy of a school record with 13 treys in its game earlier this season at UNCG (12/6). Amber Jones and LaShaunda Pratt combined to shoot 10-for-12 from beyond the arc in that game.
Fast Start
With an 11-3 record so far, UAB is off to one of its best starts in program history. Only twice has a UAB team posted a better record through 14 games than the current Blazer squad.
The 1981-82 Blazer team had the best start ever through 14 games with a 13-1 mark, while the 1994-95 UAB squad got off to a 12-2 start. This year's team has matched the third-best start in program history, tying the 1979-80 and 1991-92 teams with its 11-3 mark.
New Mark For Defense In A Half
UAB matched the program record for fewest points allowed in a half Jan. 5 against Rice, limiting the Owls to just 11 points over the opening 20 minutes.
The Blazers also surrendered only 11 points in a game against Cincinnati on March 9, 1995. On four other occasions, UAB has limited an opponent to 12 points in a single half.
Dominating Defense
Coming off one of the best defensive seasons in Conference USA history, UAB has been even stingier so far this year. The Blazers have surrendered just 46.9 points per contest and rank fourth in the nation in scoring defense in the latest NCAA statistics (1/9).
UAB has held 11 of its 14 opponents to 47 points or fewer and kept four -- Western Kentucky, Hampton, Clemson and East Carolina -- below 40 points. The 36 points scored Nov. 26 by Western Kentucky and Dec. 30 by Clemson matched the fewest allowed by the Blazers since the 1994-95 season.
Last season, the Blazers' 55.3 points allowed per game set a school record and broke the Conference USA record by a full point. UAB's 56.1 points allowed in C-USA games also set a league record. The Blazers finished the season ranked 25th in the nation in scoring defense.
Chasing 1,000
With 17 points in the Dec. 30 win at Clemson, junior guard Amber Jones surpassed the 900-point mark for her career.
Jones has added 38 more points over the past three contests and now has 941 points, closing in on the 1,000-point milestone. She is seeking to be the 25th 1,000-point scorer in program history and the 13th to accomplish the feat before her senior season.
Chapman On A Roll
Sophomore forward Karisma Chapman has taken over the team lead in scoring average thanks to an impressive six-game stretch. The Calumet City, Ill., product has averaged 16.8 points over that period, led UAB in scoring in five of the six games and reached the 20-point mark in three of them.
Chapman is now averaging 14.4 points per game for the season, just ahead of Amber Jones at 14.2. She has scored in double figures in every game but two, including a career-best 24 points twice against both Alabama A&M (12/15) and Florida A&M (1/2).
Jones Picks Up Where She Left Off
Junior guard Amber Jones continues to be one of the top scoring threats for UAB, ranking second on the team at 14.2 points per game. She has led UAB in scoring seven times, including Dec. 6 at UNCG when she erupted for a career-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
Jones is the leading returning scorer for UAB after averaging 12.5 points per game last year as a sophomore. She developed into the Blazers' top scorer down the stretch in 2010-11, raising her average to 15.3 points per game over the final 13 contests and 17.5 over the final six.
Jones Draining 3's At High Rate
Amber Jones has shown vast improvement from 3-point range this season. She entered her junior year with 72 treys over her first two seasons but was just a 27.7 percent shooter from beyond the arc for her career.
This season, Jones' 3-point percentage has jumped all the way to 39.6 (21-for-53), which ranks fifth in Conference USA. She has been even better over the past six games, knocking down 47.8 percent (11-for-23) of her shots from long range during that stretch.
Doing Damage From Downtown
UAB averages 6.0 3-pointers per game as a team to rank first in Conference USA, while senior guard LaShaunda Pratt ranks second in the league individually with 2.2 treys per contest. The Blazers knocked down 13 in a single contest against UNCG (12/6), including six by Pratt.
Last season, UAB topped C-USA in 3-pointers per game, as well. The Blazers averaged a league-leading 6.2 treys per contest, knocking down a total of 216 for the season, the second-most in UAB history and just three shy of the 2006-07 school-record total of 219. Graduated guard Amanda Peterson set a school and C-USA record with 103 treys a year ago.
Pratt From Long Range
Senior guard LaShaunda Pratt ranks second in Conference USA with 2.2 made 3-pointers per game. Despite a recent slump (one for her last 12), Pratt has hit 33.3 percent (31 of 93) of her attempts from beyond the arc this year.
Coming into the season, Pratt had never made more than three 3-pointers in a game. Through 14 games this year, she has already surpassed that twice.
Pratt hit five treys on her way to a career-best 24 points earlier this season at McNeese State (11/19) and topped that at UNCG (12/6) when she hit a career-best six 3-pointers in just seven attempts.
Eight-Game Winning Streak In The Books
UAB had an eight-game winning streak snapped Jan. 2 at Florida A&M. It was the Blazers' first loss since an overtime defeat Nov. 19 against McNeese State. The eight-game winning streak tied for the fifth-longest in program history. Here is a look at the top all-time winning streaks for the UAB women's basketball program:
UAB's Top All-Time Winning Streaks
1. 14 games (Jan 15-March 12, 1994)
2. 9 games (Feb. 6-March 13, 1992)
9 games (Feb. 5-March 8, 1991)
9 games (March 15, 1981-Jan. 2, 1982)*
5. 8 games (Nov. 25-Dec. 30, 2011)
8 games (Nov. 18-Dec. 19, 1994)
*indicates streak that spanned two seasons
Recapping The Winning Streak
During UAB's eight-game winning streak, the Blazers posted some pretty impressive numbers, especially on the defensive end of the floor.
UAB held opponents to 41.1 points per game and limited them to 31.4 percent shooting during the streak. Not one of the eight opponents scored more than 47 points against the Blazers, and UAB managed to hold three of them below the 40-point mark -- Western Kentucky (36), Hampton (38) and Clemson (36).
UAB out-scored the opposition by 16.6 points per game during the streak, and four of the eight wins came by at least 22 points.
Productive Point Guard
Despite a rough stretch with just four assists and 10 turnovers over the past four games, UAB junior guard Khalilah Watson still maintains a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Watson, who posted a season-best five assists against both Western Kentucky (11/26) and Austin Peay (12/3), has had more turnovers than assists just twice this season (versus Clemson and Florida A&M).
She has made significant improvements in both areas this season. As a sophomore last year, she averaged 2.3 assists and 3.0 turnovers per game.
Kleist's Contributions
Junior forward Michaelea Kleist, who came off the bench for the first three games, has now started 11 contests in a row.
Kleist, a transfer from Volunteer State CC, has proven to be a defensive presence and one of the team's top rebounders. Over the past eight contests, she has averaged team-highs with 7.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks while also contributing 5.9 points.
Kleist's five blocked shots against UNCG (12/6) are the most by a UAB player this season.
Frosh Sensation Now Super Soph
Sophomore forward Karisma Chapman is continuing to develop after a 2010-11 season in which she was a C-USA All-Freshman Team selection. Chapman is averaging 14.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. She logged her third career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds at UNCG.
Last year, Chapman finished the year with 10 double-digit scoring performances in the last 17 games. She averaged 10.8 points per game over that stretch and closed the year with an average of 8.0 points to go along with a pair of double-doubles in her rookie campaign.
