College basketball

Today: USF women at UAB

By GREG AUMAN
Published February 20, 2005

WHEN/WHERE: 3; Bartow Arena, Birmingham, Ala.

RECORDS: USF 17-9, 7-5 Conference USA; UAB 7-18, 4-8.

COACHES: USF - Jose Fernandez (56-81, fifth season). UAB - Audra Smith (first season).

NOTABLE: The Bulls' final two regular-season games are against the Blazers, with the teams meeting again Saturday in Tampa. UAB has won two of its last three, but the Bulls need to sweep these two to keep alive hopes of making their NCAA Tournament debut. ESPN.com did a projection of the NCAA field last week with only three C-USA teams in it, so the Bulls, seventh in the standings, might need to make the C-USA championship game to contend for one of the final at-large berths. UAB is led by guards Carmen Guzman and Crystal McFadden, averaging 13.8 and 12.3 points, respectively. USF is sending out postcards to pitch sophomore forward Jessica Dickson as an All-America candidate, and Dickson is helping the campaign, topping 20 points in four of the past five games. Her 7-for-11 shooting in last week's win against Southern Miss marked her highest percentage of the season, and she's second in C-USA on free throws, hitting 82.8 percent. If the Bulls play sophomore center Nalini Miller, expect it to be sparingly as she recovers from a strained hamstring. Junior center Sharon Cambridge has played well in the past two games, scoring a career-best 19 on 9-for-10 shooting Sunday against Southern Miss.

[Last modified February 20, 2005, 00:54:14]