The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Houston
Women's Basketball Falls At Houston, 61-50
1/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2009
Final Stats | Box Score in PDF Form 
HOUSTON, Texas - The UAB women's basketball team dropped a 61-50 game at Houston on Friday evening at the Hofheinz Pavilion. Houston was led by balanced scoring, with six players scoring eight-plus points for the Cougars. Senior guard Britney Jones paced the Blazers with 23 points on the night.
UAB fell to 6-11 overall and 1-3 in Conference USA. Houston improved its overall record to 10-5 and its league record to 2-1.
Houston got off to a fast start, going up by seven on multiple occasions in the first half. Down 20-13 at the 9:01 mark, UAB responded with an 8-0 run that gave the Blazers their first lead of the game, 21-20, with 5:26 left in the half. The Cougars put together a 9-2 run of their own to take a seven-point lead at the break, 30-23.
The Cougars came out in the second half and extended their lead to 16 by the 14:16 mark, 43-27, on a pair of free throws by Brittney Scott. The Blazers came within 10, 49-39, with 9:07 left, but Houston scored seven unanswered points to go up by 17, 56-39, with 3:30 remaining in the game. The Cougars held on for an 11-point victory over UAB, 61-50.
"We missed way too many opportunities tonight, especially on the offensive end," said UAB head coach Audra Smith. "We had a lot of chances to score, but we were missing layups and we didn't convert on a lot of second-chance opportunities that we had.
"We really need to remain focused and concentrate on our game at Rice on Sunday. We need to pick up that win, not just for our record, but for our confidence as well. There is a lot of basketball left to be played this season."
UAB shot 35.0 percent overall for the game, including 33.3 percent in the first half and 36.4 percent in the second half. The Blazers were cold from beyond the arc, hitting just 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) on the night. UAB made just seven trips to the free throw line, sinking five of its attempts (71.4 percent).
Jones' 23 points came on 10-of-23 shooting, including a trio of three-point baskets. It marked her sixth consecutive double-digit scoring game and her second straight 20-plus point effort.
Junior forward Tamika Dukes was just shy of a double-double, scoring eight points and pulling down 10 rebounds for the Blazers. Freshman forward Shelly Breaux paced UAB on the boards with a career-high 11, while also adding seven points.
Houston knocked down 32.7 percent of its shots, including 31.3 percent (5-of-16) from three-point range and 76.9 percent (20-of-26) from the charity stripe.
Jasmine Johnson was Houston's lone player in double figures with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Scott and Porsche Landry scored nine points apiece for the Cougars, followed by Brittany Mason, Roxana Button and Courtney Taylor with eight points each. Taylor led Houston on the boards with 11 rebounds and Scott recorded a game-high four steals.
The Blazers will return to action on Sunday when they continue Conference USA play at Rice. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT at the Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas.
