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For Immediate Release: December 8, 2001 IOWA CITY, IA-Alabama-Birmingham outscored the Lady
Broncs in the second half, 53-36, and pulled away for a 102-75 win in
the third place game of the Gazette-Hawkeye Challenge at Carver-Hawkeye
Arena at the University of Iowa Saturday evening. Leading, 38-35, with 3:11 remaining, the Lady
Blazers outscored UTPA, 11-4 during the remainder of the first half to
take a 49-39 halftime lead. UAB scored the first 11 points of the second
half to extend their lead to 60-39 and stayed in command throughout the
remainder of the game. The Lady Broncs made 50 per cent of their shots
from the field in the first half, but just 34.4 per cent in the second
half. The Lady Blazers finished the game making 64.5 per cent of their
shots from the field and outrebounding UTPA, 41-24. “We played better,” said UTPA Head Coach Karin Nicholls. “We took better care of the ball, and we worked together better as a team. We still need to work on some things, and we need to do a better job blocking people out on the boards. We’re looking forward to playing at home Thursday night.” Senior forward Kelli Kreuser (Bettendorf,
IA/Davenport North HS/Truman State) led the Lady Broncs with 17 points.
Freshman guard Anette Johansen (Oslo, Norway/Foss Videregaaende HS)
added 14, making four of eight shots from three-point range. Junior
forward Naima Williams (Houston, TX/Clear Brook HS) had 13, freshman
guard Nikki Hitchens (Las Vegas, NV/ Silverado HS) added 11, and
freshman guard Jennifer Piwonka (Louise, TX/Louise HS) had 10. Deanna Jackson had 34 points for
Alabama-Birmingham, while Natasha Thomas had 29. Each added 10 assists,
and Thomas also grabbed 11 rebounds. The
Lady Broncs fell to 1-8 with the defeat, while UAB improved to 5-3. UTPA
will return home to play Texas A&M-Kingsville at 6:00 p.m. Thursday
evening. WBBUAB120801 |