HUNTINGTON, W. Va. – UAB women’s basketball team continues its first conference road trip Saturday against Marshall at 12 p.m. CST at the Cam Henderson Center.
UAB (9-6, 1-2 C-USA) suffered a close loss on the road against WKU Thursday morning to fall to 1-2 in conference play. The Blazers turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 18 times in the loss resulting in 18 points for the Hilltoppers who would win by four.
Rachael Childress scored 15 points in the loss with four three pointers, three assists and four rebounds. The senior is averaging 17.3 points in C-USA play shooting 55 percent from three-point range in those three games. Trista Magee and Katelynn Thomas both added 12 points in the loss.
Marshall (6-8, 1-2 C-USA) also fell on Thursday losing at home to Middle Tennessee 75-55. The Thundering Herd picked up its lone C-USA win over North Texas in Denton last Saturday.
Freshman guard Savannah Wheeler leads the Herd in points per game (12.4), assists (35) and steals (19). Wheeler was named C-USA freshman of the week back on Nov. 11. Marshall leads Conference USA in blocks with 77 (5.5 per game) which is top 20 in the nation. Ashley Saintigene leads the league with 40 (3.1 per game) and is tied for 16th in the NCAA.
“This is a really important game for us,” said head coach Randy Norton. “I feel like we had one slip away from us on Thursday, so we need to make sure we take care of business against Marshall and stay in the hunt in Conference USA.”
UAB and Marshall have met 28 times with the Blazers holding onto a narrow 15-13 series lead. The Blazers have won three straight games over the Herd including a 77-59 victory last February in Birmingham. Rachael Childress scored 19 points off 70 percent shooting from the field and 83.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc with five threes. Angela Vendrell recorded a double-double with 13 rebounds and 11 assists.
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.
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