BIRMINGHAM – UAB women’s basketball will host conference leader Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Bartow Arena.
Despite a solid offensive performance, the Blazers could not come up with enough defensive stops to shut down Charlotte on Thursday night resulting in an 83-75 loss in the conference opener.
UAB (8-5, 0-1 C-USA) comes into the contest with the best scoring offense in C-USA averaging 79.2 points per game and shooting a league best 46.8 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from three-point range.
The Blazers have been paced by Rachael Childress who leads the league in scoring averaging 17.9 points per game. Childress recorded another 20-point performance against Charlotte on Thursday night, her sixth of the season. The senior shooting guard is averaging 4.1 threes per game and shooting over 40 percent from the field and the three-point line.
Katelynn Thomas has been coming on strong as of late, adding 25 points and eight rebounds in the Blazers loss to Charlotte. The Birmingham native is averaging 13.0 points per game and 20 points in her last three games while leading the team in blocks with 18.
Old Dominion (11-2, 1-0 C-USA) boasts the best defense in the conference allowing only 51.5 points per game while holding opponents to 33.5 percent from the field and 22.4 percent from three-point range.
The Monarchs are led by junior Victoria Morris who is averaging 11.5 points per game with the second most threes per game in the league (2.9) and second best three-point field goal percentage (42.7%). ODU is averaging 4.8 blocks per game paced by freshman Marie Reichert’s 32 and Amari Young’s 19.
“ODU has the best record in Conference USA and are playing at a very high level as of late,” said head coach Randy Norton. “It’s imperative for us to defend and rebound for 40 minutes.”
It will be a battle of C-USA’s top offense and top defense in the 19th meeting between the two teams. While Old Dominion leads the overall series 13-6, since the Monarchs joined C-USA in 2013 the Blazers have won four of six meetings including the last two matchups. Miyah Barnes’ 16 points and six assists and Imani Johnson’s 14 points and five rebounds led UAB to a 69-61 victory last February in Norfolk.
Secure your women’s basketball season tickets by purchasing the 2019-20 Gold Card for $65 here. The Gold Card is an exclusive offer that grants you admission into all women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, baseball and softball events for the upcoming academic year. Contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 for more details.
For more information on the UAB women’s basketball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_WBB) and Instagram (UAB_WBBall).
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