The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Houston
Blazers Beaten By Houston's Buzzer Beater, 74-71
2/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- Houston's Sha'Ratta Hawkins hit a three pointer from half court at the buzzer as the Cougars beat the UAB women's basketball team, 74-71, Sunday afternoon.
The Blazers had tied things up, 71-71, with five seconds remaining as sophomore Diamond Rogers drained three free throws after being fouled by ShaQuaylon McKinney. Houston inbounded the ball and Hawkins put up the shot at midcourt before time expired.
The Blazers end the regular season 14-13 overall and 7-9 in Conference USA. The 14 victories are the most for a UAB squad since the 2000-01 season.
UAB jumped out to a 12-point lead in the first half, but the Cougars charged back and were down, 36-33, at the half. The two teams fought back and forth throughout the second half. With 2:20 left in the contest Jackson hit a bucket, was fouled and converted the three-point play, giving the Cougars a 65-62 lead, a lead that they never gave up.
The Blazers came back and got within one, 69-68, with 17 seconds left on a jumper by Britney Jones. UAB then fouled the Cougars' Kadi Creel who hit two free throws, giving Houston a 71-68 lead with 13 seconds left. Rogers was fouled on UAB's next possession.
"We managed to jump out to a 12-point lead in the first half," said UAB head coach Audra Smith. "Houston goes on a run and closes the gap to three. It just went back-and-forth all afternoon. Tye Jackson was phenomenal. She was hitting big shot after big shot. We tried to go zone, we went man and nothing was helping us stop her, so we turned the focus on ourselves. We started to attack and become more of a threat. That seemed to help us. Late in the game, we were down and doubt started to seep in. I told the team to just stay with me and we would be able to pull it out. Sure enough, we did. We got some key stops. I subbed in Candace White and Diamond for three-point shooting and they ran the play to perfection. Diamond hit those three huge free throws. Unfortunately, it just wasn't our day today. You have to give Houston credit. They came in well prepared and Hawkins hit the shot. It tears my heart out for our players to lose on a shot like that."
UAB's bench contributed 44 points, making this the fourth-straight contest in which the Blazer subs outscored their starters.
The Blazers were led by Jones' 18 points, while Crystal McFadden added 14. Carmen Guzman was held to eight points, but grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals. It was the first time in 13 games that Guzman was held to less than 10 points.
Houston's Jackson led all scorers with 35 points, including 27 in the second half. Hawkins added 14 points and a game-high four steals to the cause.
Sunday's game was the final regular-season contest for seniors Deirdre Larry and Larezia Williams, as well as student assistant coach Laura Waldrop.
UAB will travel to Dallas, Texas for the Conference USA Tournament beginning March 2. The seeding for the championships will be announced Sunday evening.
