The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
USF
Women's Basketball Defeats South Florida 64-53
2/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 10, 2002
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Five UAB players scored in double figures to help lift the Lady Blazers to a 64-53 victory over South Florida (12-11, 2-8 Conference USA) in Conference USA women?s basketball action at Bartow Arena.
Natasha Thomas recorded her C-USA leading 16th double-double for UAB (10-13, 2-8 C-USA), with 15 points and 11 rebounds. K?Shaki Short had a career high 11 points to go along with four assists, a 2-3 performance from the three-point range and a 5-6 night from the free throw line for the Lady Blazers. Michelle Smith shot 75 percent (3-4) from the floor and had 13 points, Chantell Thomas posted 11 points and Christina DeMaio shot 50 percent (4-8) from the field and had 10 points and a career high six assists for UAB.
UAB outrebounded South Florida 45-37.
"This was a much, much needed victory for our team,? said UAB Head Coach Jeannie Milling. ?We were in a must win situation. We did not play well in the first half, but I thought we came back and played good defense in the second half. I thought we did a good job rebounding and we only had six turnovers in the second half. I thought we had better ball control and that opened up our offense."
Jen Kline led all scorers with 16 points, Tristen Webb had 13 points and Alana Tanksley added 11 points for South Florida.
South Florida led the majority of the first half, with their largest lead being a nine point advantage at 25-16 with 5:50 remaining in the half. The Bulls led 29-25 at the break.
UAB went on a 10-0 run early in the second half and took a 37-31 lead with 11:23 to play in the game. The Bulls tied the game at 43 at the 7:10 mark, but UAB regained the lead for good at 45-43 on a bucket by Natasha Thomas with 6:43 remaining to play.
UAB next travels to North Carolina for a pair of C-USA games this weekend. Friday, the Lady Blazers face Charlotte at 7 p.m. (ET) and Sunday, the team meets East Carolina at 2 p.m. (ET).
