The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Close Out Regular Season Versus 49ers
3/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 6, 2014
UAB (15-13, 7-8 C-USA) vs. Charlotte (14-14, 8-7 C-USA)
Friday, March 7 at 2 p.m. CT
Birmingham, Ala. – Bartow Arena
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Listen Free | Watch
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB women’s basketball team will host Charlotte in its final regular season game on Friday, March 7. The game is slated to tip off at 2 p.m. CT.
Fans can listen to the action free on UABsports.com.
Blazer Bits
- Conference USA: UAB and Charlotte will be playing for seeds in the C-USA tournament. A win for the Blazers would make them the seventh seed, while a win for Charlotte would put UAB eighth and the 49ers sixth.
- UAB and Charlotte are both shooting above .400 on the season. The Blazers are second in the conference with a .426 field goal percentage on the season. The 49ers are just behind with a .421 percentage, which is fourth.
- Both teams are also equally strong in defensive rebounding. UAB leads C-USA with 28.1 defensive boards per game and Charlotte is third with 27.8 per game.
- UAB has been solid on defense this season. The team is first in C-USA in defensive rebounds (28.1), second in blocked shots per game (4.9) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.379).
- Senior Karisma Chapman is second in C-USA in points per game during league play. She is averaging 22.4 ppg in UAB’s 15 conference games and has scored more than 20 points in 10 of those games. Chapman is also averaging a double-double in that span with 11.5 rpg.
UAB Notes
A Look at the 49ers
Charlotte (14-14, 8-7 C-USA) is coming off a loss to Tulsa, 68-57. The 49ers are seventh in the conference standings heading into today’s game. Four players are averaging double figures for Charlotte. Gabby Tyler leads the team with 12.0 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. Ny Hammonds is second with 11.5 ppg and has dished out a team-best 157 assists on the season.
The Series
This will be the 28th meeting between UAB and Charlotte in a series that dates back to the 1978-79 season. The two teams first met on Feb. 10, 1979, with the 49ers taking the win, 62-61. The Blazers will look to even the series on Friday as Charlotte holds a slight, 14-13, advantage. UAB will also try to break a six-game losing streak in the series. In the last meeting, Charlotte topped UAB, 79-57, on Nov. 21, 2008.
Quick turnaround
UAB will play Charlotte just two days after taking on Rice. The Blazers and the 49ers are playing in a makeup game after the previously scheduled game had to be moved due to weather. Both teams suffered losses on Wednesday and will look to close out the regular season strong before traveling to El Paso, Texas for the Conference USA tournament.
Chapman Climbing The Ranks
Senior Karisma Chapman has certainly left her mark on the UAB women’s basketball program. Chapman is now second in school history in steals (273) and jumped up to fourth in blocked shots (93). As a junior, she became the 26th player in school history to reach 1,000 points, and has since added to her total. With 1,612 points, she has moved into ninth on the all-time scorers list. She is 44 points away from eighth.
A Trio of Leading Ladies
The group of senior forward Karisma Chapman, senior guard Ashley Grimes and sophomore point guard Chelsee Black have combined to lead UAB in scoring in all 26 games in the 2013-14 season. The three are each averaging double figures and have all scored in double-digits in 16 games this season.
They each rank among the top-10 in C-USA individual categories. Chapman is fourth in scoring (20.2 ppg), fifth in rebounding (9.7 rpg), seventh in minutes played (35.6), ninth in steals (1.9) and 10th in field goal percentage (.493). Grimes is seventh in steals (2.0), ninth in assists (3.4) and 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (.354). Black is first in free throw percentage (.883), fourth in 3-point percentage (.383), fourth in 3-point field goals made (2.2 pg) and sixth in minutes played (36.8).
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For women's basketball news, follow @UAB_WBB.
