The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
UTEP
Second Half Surge Lifts UAB Over UTEP, 64-58
1/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB women's basketball team used a 42-point second half to grab a 64-58 victory over the UTEP Miners on Saturday evening at Bartow Arena. Senior guard Britney Jones recorded her first career double-double with 25 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in the Blazer victory.
After picking up its second straight win, UAB improves its record to 9-13 overall and 4-5 in Conference USA. UTEP falls to 12-9 on the year, including a 5-3 mark in league play.
The two teams played to an 11-11 tie at the 10:48 mark before UTEP went on a 9-0 run to go up 20-11 with 9:14 remaining in the first half. UAB cut its deficit to five, 24-19, with 5:21 on the clock, but the Miners outscored the Blazers 9-3 in the final minutes of the opening half to take a 33-22 lead into the break.
After UTEP went up by 13 to begin the second half, UAB began to chip away at the Miners' lead. The Blazers outscored the Miners, 22-8, to take their first lead of the game at the 9:26 mark, 46-45.
The lead changed hands on multiple occasions throughout the second half. UAB eventually took a two-possession lead with 43 seconds left on the clock, 61-56. The Miners came within three on a pair of free throws by Timika Williams with 32 seconds remaining, but the Blazers made free throws down the stretch to hold on for the six-point victory, 64-58.
"We really showed a lot of heart and resilience tonight," said UAB head coach Audra Smith. "We were down at the half, but came out in the second half and refused to give up.
"We played some great defense tonight, especially in the final minutes of the game. We also got some major contributions from Tamika Dukes and Fatiha Salaam in the second half on the offensive side, to go along with Britney Jones' points."
UAB shot 44.4 percent for the game, including a game-high 50.0 percent as the Blazers scored 42 points in the second half. UAB went 7-of -14 (50.0 percent) from beyond the arc and 17-of-23 (73.9 percent) from the charity stripe.
Jones hit 8-of-16 from the field for 25 points for the Blazers, including 3-of-4 from three-point range and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Jones also added 11 boards, all defensive, for her first career double-double.
Junior forward Tamike Dukes tallied a career-best 17 points for UAB, with 15 of her points coming in the second half. Dukes also grabbed six boards, dished out two assists and had a career-high three blocks.
Junior guard Fatiha Salaam was the third Blazer in double figures, contributing 11 points, all in the second half.
UTEP shot 32.8 percent for the game, including 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from beyond the arc and 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from the free throw line.
Hughes was the lone player in double digits for the Miners with 19 points on 5-of-15 shooting and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe. Hughes also added six boards, five assists and two steals on the night.
Fannie Goodwin led UTEP on the boards with 10, while also adding eight points. Willaims fell just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
UAB will return to the hardwood next Saturday when it hosts the Memphis Tigers in a C-USA matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at Bartow Arena.
