UAB Opens Final Road Trip of the Regular Season at North Texas

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With the Conference USA Tournament just over a week away, the UAB women's basketball team looks to acclimate itself to the Lone Star State as it closes out the regular season with two games in Texas beginning on Thursday with a 5 p.m. tip against North Texas in the Super Pit.

UAB (22-5, 11-3) sits one game behind WKU for the top spot in the league standings, with both teams playing two road games in the final weekend of the season. Two Blazer victories and a loss by the Lady Toppers would secure UAB's first-ever C-USA Regular Season title and the team's first championship since winning the Great Midwest Regular Season crown in 1993-94.

"I think the most important thing for us is we want to get back to playing our best basketball," head coach Randy Norton said. "I feel like over the last several games we have not played as well as we are capable of. Heading into this weekend, we just want to play our best basketball, compete for a conference championship and build some momentum heading into the conference tournament."

The Blazers are coming off a weekend split, earning a 65-58 midday victory over Middle Tennessee last Thursday before dropping a heartbreaker to Louisiana Tech, 70-60, on Saturday. Junior Deanna Kuzmanic played a pivotal role in both games, averaging 23.0 points per contest over the two-game stretch, including a career-high 35-point effort against the Lady Techsters.

The Mount Prospect, Illinois, native's point total against LA Tech saw her become the 28^th member of UAB's 1,000-point club, while her career-best seven-made 3-pointers in Saturday's game helped the Blazers break the school record for most triples in a single season with 222 on the year.

Kuzmanic and sophomore Rachael Childress have been the team's leaders in offensive production this season, as both currently lead the team in scoring with 13.9 points per game. Childress has been lethal from behind the arc all year, shooting an astonishing 45.3 percent from long range, a mark that leads the conference and ranks 12^th in the NCAA.

Miyah Barnes continues to round out the Blazers' trio of double-figure performers with 11.5 points per game. The sophomore also leads UAB with 131 assists, the 10^th-most by a Blazer in a single season, while helping UAB pull within 11 assists of fifth place on the all-time list for most assists by a team in a single season (494).

Both Kuzmanic and Barnes have displayed their unselfish mentality all year as they are top-3 in the league in assist/turnover ratio at 2.4 and 2.1, respectively. The duo's efforts have propelled UAB to a 1.4 team assist/turnover ratio, which leads C-USA and ranks No. 10 in the NCAA.

North Texas (15-11, 6-8) is coming off a difficult 62-54 home loss to Marshall, snapping a four-game winning streak for the Mean Green. Terriell Bradley led the charge for the Mean Green in the loss with 18 points.

Bradley has been North Texas' most outstanding player this year, leading the team in points per game (19.3) and rebounds per game (5.7). Lauren Holmes is the second-highest scorer on the team, averaging 9.4 points per contest.

The two teams will meet for just the eighth time with North Texas leading the all-time series, 6-1, including victories in the last three games. UAB will look to avenge last season's loss, a 65-62 double overtime defeat in the C-USA tournament, and earn its first victory in Denton.

Thursday night's game will be broadcast live on beIN Sports CONNECT beginning at 5 p.m., while fans can also follow along with the live stats at meangreensports.com as well as on Twitter at @UAB_WBB.

For more information on the UAB women's basketball team follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_WBB), Instagram (UAB_WBBALL) or like them on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABWBB).

UAB Opens Final Road Trip of the Regular Season at North Texas

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Players Mentioned

Miyah Barnes

Rachael Childress

Deanna Kuzmanic

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics