The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Florida
Florida Tops UAB On Final Shot, 77-75
12/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2008
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Final Stats |
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Sha Brooks scored a layup with five seconds left on the clock to break the tie and give the Florida women's basketball team the 77-75 win over UAB on Wednesday evening at Bartow Arena. Senior Britney Jones scored a career-high 28 points, including 17 in the first half, to lead the Blazers.
Brooks hit a pair of shots from beyond the arc and paced Florida with 12 points and a game-high six assists.
UAB's record moves to 2-5 on the year. Florida, which was just outside the top 25 in the latest AP poll, improves its record to 7-1.
The Blazers played a close game with Florida the entire night, including holding a four-point lead at the half, 38-34, courtesy of Jones' 17 first-half points.
UAB held as much as an 11-point lead in the second half, 60-49, with 11:46 on the clock. Florida went on a 20-0 run that spanned just shy of five minutes to go up by nine, 69-60.
UAB came back from a nine-point deficit with 5:27 remaining in the game to tie the score at 71-71. The Gators went up by four, 75-71, with 1:09 left before a three-point bucket by UAB's Fatiha Salaam cut the lead to one, 75-74, with 0:51 on the clock.
After a steal by sophomore Amanda Peterson for the Blazers, Jones was fouled and went to the free throw line to shoot two with 32 seconds left. Jones made the second of two free throws to tie the game at 75-all. Brooks' layup with five seconds remaining lifted the Florida Gators to a 77-75 win over UAB.
Both teams had the hot hand, with each squad shooting 50.0 percent overall. Florida shot 40.0 percent from three-point range, while UAB hit 39.1 percent of its shots from beyond the arc.
The Blazers and the Gators had some struggles from the free throw line, with UAB shooting 53.8 percent and Florida hitting 58.8 percent from the charity stripe.
Jones hit 11-of-20 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line for a career-high 28 points. Her previous career high was 27 points, recorded versus Northwestern State on Dec. 28, 2006. Jones also added four rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Salaam went 6-of-12 on the night, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, to tie her career high of 16 points. Redshirt freshman Ashlee Jackson recorded a career-best 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Brooks' 12 points came on 4-of-11 shooting overall and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. Forward Marshae Dotson was 6-of-9 from the floor for 12 points and a game-high seven boards.
The Blazers will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich. to take on the Central Michigan Chippewas at 2 p.m. ET.
