The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Davidson
Women's Basketball Tops Davidson 97-78
12/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2001
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - All-American candidate Deanna Jackson poured in 36 points and Natasha Thomas added 25 to lift UAB (6-3) over Davidson (4-4) 97-78 in women's basketball action at Bartow Arena.
The nation's leading scorer, Jackson, posted a season high in scoring, recorded her sixth double-double of the season and for the fourth time this season, she went over the thirty point mark. Jackson shot 72.2 percent from the floor (13-18) and was 8-9 from the free throw line. Thomas posted her seventh double-double in nine games.
With the exception of a pair of first half ties, 6-6 and 4-4, and a 4-2 Davidson lead at the 17:30 mark of the first half, the Lady Blazers never trailed.
"Our team played well tonight, but I feel that we could still improve," said UAB Head Coach Jeannie Milling. "We did a good job of rebounding. Our guard play really improved in this game, but we need to improve on our turnovers. We executed well offensively. We talked about making more passes and not forcing up bad shots. Our defensive intensity was very high."
In the first half, UAB used an 11-0 run to jump out to a 28-11 lead. The Lady Blazers shot 42.9 percent from the field, led by Jackson, who was 6-9 from the floor with 20 points, and held Davidson to 28.9 percent from the floor and 7.1 percent from three-point range. UAB led 51-40 at the break.
The Lady Blazers led by as many as 25 in the second half and shot 47.5 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range. UAB outrebounded the Wildcats 31-13 in the second half, grabbing 14 offensive boards to Davidson's four and pulling down 17 defensive to the Wildcats' nine. For the game, UAB outrebounded Davidson 62-36.
Hoover High School product Janna Magette led Davidson with 21 points and five rebounds. Meghan Bryant added 17 points and nine boards, Ashley Hallsted had 15 points and Robyn Flewelling scored 13 for the Wildcats.
UAB returns home to Bartow Arena to host the Lady Blazer Classic Friday-Saturday. Friday, the Lady Blazers will face Samford at 6 p.m. and Austin Peay and Birmingham-Southern will square off at 8 p.m. Saturday, the consolation game will tip off at 3 p.m. and the championship game will follow at 5 p.m.
