Charlotte Women’s Basketball takes on University of Alabama at Birmingham Blazers at home for Education Day game | Sports

After a 4-4 start, Charlotte Women’s Basketball prepares to take on the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) Blazers at home on Monday, Dec. 19 at 11 a.m. defend their title as Conference USA (C-USA) champions.

Sitting at No. 3 in the league for the overall record, the Blazers offer a formidable challenge for Charlotte to start the regular season.

Scout the Blazers

Coming to Charlotte with an .875 winning percentage, the Blazers have a potent combination of spirited offense and solid defense.

UAB is No. 1 in the conference in offensive scoring at 81.3 points per game. The Blazers made 45.5 percent of field goal attempts to rank No. 2 of 11 in C-USA. They were even more successful from beyond the arc with 41% successful three-point field goal attempts – second-best Middle Tennessee had 34.1%.

Against the Blazers’ defense, opposing teams had more success. UAB held their competition to 62.1 points per game and 35.3 percent shooting from the field for No. 5 and No. 4 in the C-USA rankings, respectively. However, in terms of three-point success, teams can only put 23.0% against UAB, which puts them at No. 2. The Blazers have also forced more turnovers by opponents than they have. allowed, placing them fourth in the conference. .

At the individual level, UAB has few outstanding players in terms of metrics. Margaret Whitley leads C-USA in three-point field goal percentage (53.5%) and is No. 4 in three-point field goals per game (2.6).

Denim DeShields has dished out 33 assists on the season, No. 4 in C-USA, and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.9, which also puts her at No. 4.

49ers scouting

For the Green and Whites, statistically, neither side of the ball seems to be a team strength. However, these stats can be misleading due to strong opposition, including NC State and Clemson.

At the conference level, Charlotte boasts of being No. 10 in scoring for and against the team. Meanwhile, they sit last in the scoring margin between the two, with opponents scoring 9.6 more points per game against the 49ers than they score against their opponents.

The 49ers struggled to shoot, sitting 9th in team field goal percentage (38.1%) and last in three-point field goal percentage (23.9%). At the same time, the opponents have a higher field goal percentage against Charlotte (43.1%) than any other team in C-USA.

The only metric where the 49ers are in the top five is No. 3 in blocked shots per game (3.25) and No. 5 in total blocks (26).

A highlight for Charlotte is in individual redshirt sophomore Dazia Lawrence and fifth-year Jada McMillian. Lawrence is tied for No. 3 in points per game in C-USA (16.0 ppg) and No. 5 in field goal percentage (41.95%), while McMillian is No. 2 in field goal percentage (49.4%), tied for No. 2 assists per game (3.9) and 5th in assists-to-turnover ratio (1.9)

The path to victory

For Charlotte to win, individual heroism and capitalizing on the Blazers’ relatively weaker defense may prove essential.

Home-court advantage further improves the 49er’s chances as Charlotte is performing better at home with a 3-1 record this season.

Powerful players like Lawrence and McMillian could help lead Charlotte to a game-time win.

Following

Charlotte’s game against UAB begins at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 19 at Halton Arena. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.

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