Dec. 17, 2000

Box Score

Birmingham, Ala. - Deanna Jackson earned her second in-season tournament most valuable player award as she scored 32 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead UAB to a 75-54 win over Troy State in the championship game of the Lady Blazer Invitational.

It was the third straight win for UAB who is 8-3 on the year heading into the Christmas break. Troy State fell to 3-5.

For the tournament Jackson scored 67 points and pulled had 28 rebounds. She is now averaging 29.2 points and 13.5 rebounds per game. Jackson was MVP of the Lady Blazer Classic hosted by UAB earlier this season. She has been named all-tournament all four tournaments in which the Lady Blazers have competed.

Mia Thrash scored 15 points after scoring 25 in Saturday's game to earn all-tourney honors. Troy State's Tomeka Gollate was also named to the all-tournament team. She scored 12 points against UAB. Haley Konrad led Troy, Sunday with 14 points. Chaquita Alexander added 15. Florida A&M's Sirelle Wilkerson and Mississippi Valley's Tenelia Grays rounded out the all-tournament team.

The Lady Blazers shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half and finished the game shooting 46 percent. They are 8-0 when shooting 45 percent or better from the field. UAB also dominated the game on the boards outrebounding the Lady Trojans 48-26. The Lady Blazers also did a better job of getting to the line, making 24-of-34 of their free throws. Troy State made 10-of-12.

As in the first game of the tournament UAB pulled away late in the first half to take control of the game. The Lady Blazers outscored Troy State 16-2 over the last 6:01 of the first half to turn a 27-25 lead into a 43-27 halftime score. Jackson scored eight straight points in the UAB run and had 18 points at the half.

UAB led by as much as 22 points at 59-37 with 11:28 remaining in the game before Troy State made a comeback. The Lady Trojans cut the score to 64-52 with 4:25 remaining. The Lady Blazers finished off the game outscoring Troy 11-2.

This was the final non-conference game for UAB. The Lady Blazers host an exhibition game against the Atlanta Blackhawks, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. UAB begins Conference USA play against Memphis, in Bartow Arena, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.

(more)

Lady Blazer Classic ... page 2

FLORIDA A&M 79, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 65

Sirelle Wilkerson scored 25 points and Phaedra Mashburn added 20 points as Florida A&M defeated Mississippi Valley State 79-65 to win the consolation game of the Lady Blazer Invitational, Sunday afternoon in Bartow Arena.

Florida A&M (6-3) extended a two-point halftime margin to 11 at 50-39 and never let the lead get smaller than five points the remainder of the game. FAMU led 36-34 at the half.

Mississippi Valley State fell to 1-5 on the year.

Wilkerson, named to the all-tournament team, made 10-of-13 of her shots from the field. She also led the team with eight rebounds. Mashburn was 9-of-16 from the field. Those two players stood out as both teams shot 40 percent from the field.

The key to the game was turnovers. Mississippi Valley State committed 30 turnovers to just 17 for the Rattlerettes.

Latasha Thomas scored 19 points to lead Mississippi Valley. Letesha King scored 11. Tenelia Grays was named to the all-tournament team after scoring 22 points over the two games.

2000 LADY BLAZER INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

MVP - Deanna Jackson -- UAB Mia Thrash -UAB Tomeka Gollate - Troy State Sirelle Wilkerson - Florida A&M Tenelia Grays - Mississippi Valley State

- UAB -