The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Women’s Basketball Conducts First Official Practice
9/28/2022 3:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM – The UAB women's basketball team began its first official day of practice on Wednesday.
The Blazers will field a 15-woman roster, with eight returning players and seven newcomers. The class breakdown begins with is a pair of graduate students in Lyndsey Robson and Margaret Whitley.
Robson, who missed last season with an injury, played four seasons at Green Bay (2017-21). She played in 108 total games, making 48 starts and led the Phoenix to an 85-34 record, a Horizon League championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Whitley, who is an All-Conference performer, finished last season by scoring her 1,000th career point. She is the team's leading returning scorer with 11.0 point per contest.
The junior class consists of Maria Roters and Sara Bershers.
Roters, who started 30 games last season, returns as the team leader in rebounds (3.9/g), blocks (14), steals (27) and assists (2.7/g).
Bershers comes to UAB after playing three seasons at UTRGV where she was a WAC All-Conference performer. In 66 total games with the Vaqueros, she averaged 10.3 points per game.
Five sophomores bring up the sophomore class, with Emily Klaczek as the lone starter. Klaczek made 25 starts and recorded 17 double-figure scoring games last season.
Joining Klaczek as a returning starter is Kylee Schneringer. The guard started 20 games last year and had eight double-figure contests.
Destinee McGhee averaged 8.5 points per game off the bench last season. She made 51.0% of her shots and recorded 13 double-figure games.
After battling injuries in her first two seasons, Lindsey Dullard returns to the floor healthy this season. Dullard made 43.5% of her 3-point attempts last season, over 10% higher than the national average.
Maddie Walsh comes back after playing in 23 contests last year. She saw double-figure minutes in seven games last season.
Four true freshmen and a pair of transfers make up the incoming class.
Trussville native Amiya Payne comes home to Birmingham after playing five games last season at Middle Tennessee. The former Alabama Class 7A Player of the Year finished her high school career with 2,420 points scored, 744 rebounds, 217 steals and 203 blocked shots.
Tracey Bershers, younger sister of Sara, comes to UAB after playing a season at Oklahoma State. She is an Arkansas All-State selection and led Northside High School to the 2019 and 2021 state titles.
Two of the freshmen played at prep school before coming to UAB. Denim DeShields originally committed to Indiana State, but opted to play one season at La Lumiere School before enrolling at UAB. The Atlanta native led La Lumiere to a 19-5 record while averaging 15.2 points per game.
Molly Moffitt made a couple of stops between graduating high school and enrolling with UAB. She played five games representing Ireland in the 2021 European Championship. She averaged 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in the event. Additionally, she played one season at Putnam Science Academy, where she averaged a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Joining Robson as a fellow Minnesotan is Desiree Ware. She averaged 13.9 points per game her senior season at Minnetonka High School and led the Skippers to a 21-9 record.
Along with Ware, Ashton Elley was the other member of the UAB early signee class. Elley averaged a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds per game her senior season for Little Rock Christian Academy and was a member of the 5A All-State Team.
"Our preseason was outstanding in regard to how hard the team has worked and energy they bought every day," said head coach Randy Norton. "Today's first practice was exactly a carryover from preseason. It's extremely competitive and with seven new players, we will continue to improve the more they all get used to playing with each other."
The Blazers host Shorter on Nov. 2 in an exhibition game. In the season opener, the Blazers will host Auburn-Montgomery on Nov. 7.
The 2022-23 Gold Card for $65 here. The 2022-23 Gold Card will get you access to all home events for Women's Soccer, Men's Soccer, Volleyball, Women's Basketball, Softball, and Baseball (Regions Field & Young Memorial). This card is not valid for Conference USA or NCAA Championship events.
The Blazers will field a 15-woman roster, with eight returning players and seven newcomers. The class breakdown begins with is a pair of graduate students in Lyndsey Robson and Margaret Whitley.
Robson, who missed last season with an injury, played four seasons at Green Bay (2017-21). She played in 108 total games, making 48 starts and led the Phoenix to an 85-34 record, a Horizon League championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Whitley, who is an All-Conference performer, finished last season by scoring her 1,000th career point. She is the team's leading returning scorer with 11.0 point per contest.
The junior class consists of Maria Roters and Sara Bershers.
Roters, who started 30 games last season, returns as the team leader in rebounds (3.9/g), blocks (14), steals (27) and assists (2.7/g).
Bershers comes to UAB after playing three seasons at UTRGV where she was a WAC All-Conference performer. In 66 total games with the Vaqueros, she averaged 10.3 points per game.
Five sophomores bring up the sophomore class, with Emily Klaczek as the lone starter. Klaczek made 25 starts and recorded 17 double-figure scoring games last season.
Joining Klaczek as a returning starter is Kylee Schneringer. The guard started 20 games last year and had eight double-figure contests.
Destinee McGhee averaged 8.5 points per game off the bench last season. She made 51.0% of her shots and recorded 13 double-figure games.
After battling injuries in her first two seasons, Lindsey Dullard returns to the floor healthy this season. Dullard made 43.5% of her 3-point attempts last season, over 10% higher than the national average.
Maddie Walsh comes back after playing in 23 contests last year. She saw double-figure minutes in seven games last season.
Four true freshmen and a pair of transfers make up the incoming class.
Trussville native Amiya Payne comes home to Birmingham after playing five games last season at Middle Tennessee. The former Alabama Class 7A Player of the Year finished her high school career with 2,420 points scored, 744 rebounds, 217 steals and 203 blocked shots.
Tracey Bershers, younger sister of Sara, comes to UAB after playing a season at Oklahoma State. She is an Arkansas All-State selection and led Northside High School to the 2019 and 2021 state titles.
Two of the freshmen played at prep school before coming to UAB. Denim DeShields originally committed to Indiana State, but opted to play one season at La Lumiere School before enrolling at UAB. The Atlanta native led La Lumiere to a 19-5 record while averaging 15.2 points per game.
Molly Moffitt made a couple of stops between graduating high school and enrolling with UAB. She played five games representing Ireland in the 2021 European Championship. She averaged 9.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in the event. Additionally, she played one season at Putnam Science Academy, where she averaged a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Joining Robson as a fellow Minnesotan is Desiree Ware. She averaged 13.9 points per game her senior season at Minnetonka High School and led the Skippers to a 21-9 record.
Along with Ware, Ashton Elley was the other member of the UAB early signee class. Elley averaged a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds per game her senior season for Little Rock Christian Academy and was a member of the 5A All-State Team.
"Our preseason was outstanding in regard to how hard the team has worked and energy they bought every day," said head coach Randy Norton. "Today's first practice was exactly a carryover from preseason. It's extremely competitive and with seven new players, we will continue to improve the more they all get used to playing with each other."
The Blazers host Shorter on Nov. 2 in an exhibition game. In the season opener, the Blazers will host Auburn-Montgomery on Nov. 7.
The 2022-23 Gold Card for $65 here. The 2022-23 Gold Card will get you access to all home events for Women's Soccer, Men's Soccer, Volleyball, Women's Basketball, Softball, and Baseball (Regions Field & Young Memorial). This card is not valid for Conference USA or NCAA Championship events.
Players Mentioned
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Forward
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Forward
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Guard/Forward
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Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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