The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Houston
Women's Basketball Beats Houston 77-69
2/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2001
UAB clinched a first round bye in next week's Conference USA Tournament by defeating third place Houston 77-69 in the final regular season game of the season.
It was senior day, but junior Deanna Jackson did the damage as she recorded her 18th double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds. She also dished out four assists and has three steals. She has 48 double-doubles for her career.
It was the fifth win in the last six games for the Lady Blazers, who finish the regular season 18-9 and 10-6 in C-USA. They finished the regular season tied with Houston, (17-11, 10-6) for second in the National Division. UAB will be the fourth seed in the tournament and Houston the third seed by virtue of the two teams' record within the division.
The Lady Blazers put four players in double figures. Michelle Smith scored a season high 18. Mia Thrash added 16 and Natasha Thomas scored 18.
The Lady Blazers shot 52 percent from the field and held Houston to just 39 percent. UAB shot 61 percent in the second half. Houston made just 27-of-70 shots. The Lady Blazers also outrebounded Houston 48-28. Houston did force 25 UAB turnovers.
UAB led 36-34 at the half. Houston led 22-16 with 10:16 in the first half when UAB went on a 10-1 run. The Lady Cougars got no closer than two the remainder of the game.
Houston played most of the game without its current leading scorer Monet Sykes. She went out with a hand injury with 7:14 remaining in the first half. She scored four points and had four rebounds in 13 minutes of playing time.
Valerie Muoneke led Houston with 18 points. Sharonda Lasseter scored 14 points, Jessica Shanklin added 13 and Nicole Oliver had 10 points.
UAB had its biggest lead of 14 points at 71-57 with 4:22 remaining in the game. The Lady Blazers maintained a double figure lead until Norma Noel scored the final points for Houston with 18 seconds remaining.
The C-USA Tournament begins Friday in the U.S. Cellular Arena in
