Jan. 29, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Despite a career night by senior Shelby Weber, UCF dropped a 90-78 decision at UAB in Conference USA women's basketball action on Sunday afternoon. Weber finished the game with a career-high 25 points after shooting 8-for-9 from the field and going 9-for-9 from the foul line.
Led by sophomore forward Christon Ingram and freshman guard Britney Jones, who scored 16 points each, the Blazers improved to 11-8 overall and 4-4 in conference play. The Golden Knights fell to 5-15, 3-6.
The Golden Knights were up 4-2 when the Blazers, sparked by junior guard Carmen Guzman's three-pointer, went on an 18-2 run to take a quick 20-6 lead at 10:32. After a trey by junior guard Francine Houston at 8:06 jumpstarted the offense, UCF was able to cut the advantage back to one. During that time, the Black & Gold defense kept UAB without a field goal for over five minutes.
The Knights then regained the lead on a layup by junior center Elizabeth Fieser at 4:27. The two squads fought for possession of the scoreboard as half came to a close, but UCF took a 34-33 advantage to the locker room on a shot by junior forward Keunta Miles with just 11 seconds remaining.
In the first half, UCF outshot UAB, going 14-for-26 (53.8%) from the field compared to 11-for-23 (47.8%). The Blazers, however, made all four attempts from behind the arc and also went 7-for-11 from the foul line.
Early in the second period, the Golden Knight stayed ahead until at the 13:08 mark freshman guard Britney Jones knotted the game at 50 with a trey. UAB continued to answer each UCF basket then reclaimed the advantage, 55-54, on a three-point play at 11:28.
The two teams battled for the advantage for four minutes before Guzman's three at 6:29 started an 11-0 run. UAB took a 75-64 lead at 4:47 and continued to control the game down the stretch.
UAB finished the afternoon shooting 52.7% (29-for-55) from the field, while UCF hit 43.9% (25-for-57). The Golden Knights held a slight 34-33 advantage on the boards and sank 26 of 37 chances (70.3%) from the charity stripe. The Blazers were 24-for-33 (73%) from the foul line.
The Golden Knights continue on the road next weekend when they visit Southern Miss at 6 p.m. on Saturday and Tulsa at 8 p.m. on Monday.