The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
USF
Blazers Unable To Close Gap, Fall To USF, 62-53
2/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 20, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- After being down by as much as 20 in the second half on Sunday afternoon, the UAB women's basketball team cut USF's lead to four with under five minutes to play, but was unable to get any closer, as the Bulls defeated the Blazers, 62-53.
USF (18-9, 8-5) was up 46-26 with 16:35 left in the contest, but UAB did not give up. The Blazers made a charge as they cut the Bulls' lead to single digits with under seven minutes to go. At the 4:39 mark, LaKitha Murray put in a layup to cut the Blazers' deficit to four, 55-51. After a 30-second timeout by USF, the Bulls came back onto the court and took control of the game, outscoring UAB, 7-2, the rest of the way.
The Blazers put themselves in a hole early, allowing USF to start the game on a 19-5 run and had a 38-25 lead at half. The Bulls hit 55.2 percent of their shots in the first half and were three-of-three from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
"I was very disappointed with the team and their effort in the first half," said UAB head coach Audra Smith. "We came out very flat, without any intensity and we weren't ready to play. We stressed to them from the beginning, all through practice, we had a week to prepare and we told the players about USF's style of play and what they were going to come out and do. They were more physical than we were. They pushed us around in the first half and we turned the ball over."
After hitting only 28.1 percent of its shots in the first half, UAB came back with more intensity in the second half. The Blazers hit 37.0 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes, including going 2-of-5 from beyond the three-point line. UAB also picked up the defense, holding the Bulls to a 22.6 shooting percentage in the second half.
"In the second half we came out and we got some fire in our eyes," said Smith. "We had some fight and some energy. We came back, got within four, but we just couldn't turn the corner. We got close, but couldn't take over because we dug such a deep hole for ourselves early in the game. I was proud of our aggressiveness and how we came back."
UAB's (7-19, 4-9) Crystal McFadden led all scorers with 18 points for the Blazers. McFadden was 7-of-18 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. She also played a team-high 39 minutes. Freshman LaKitha Murray had her third-consecutive double-digit performance, tallying 11 points, two rebounds and two steals in 30 minutes for UAB.
USF had four players score in double-digits, as Jessica Dickson and Anedra Gilmore had 15 points a piece. Alana Tanksley had 11 of the bench for the Bulls, while Sharon Cambridge contributed 10. Dickson was the game's leading rebounder with nine boards, while Gilmore dished out nine assists.
The Blazers and USF finish the regular season on Saturday, when UAB travels to Tampa, Fla., to take on the Bulls at 2 p.m.
