The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Southern Miss
Women's Basketball Falls To Southern Miss, 79-67
1/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Southern Miss had three players score in double figures and outrebounded the Blazers, 42-23, as it topped the UAB women's basketball team, 79-67, Thursday evening at Bartow Arena.
Pauline Love led the Golden Eagles with a double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down 13 rebounds on the night. Senior guard Britney Jones and junior guard Fatiha Salaam scored 19 points each to pace the Blazers.
UAB fell to 6-9 overall and 1-1 in Conference USA play. Southern Miss improved its record to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in league games.
Both teams battled back-and-forth in the first half, with the score being tied on seven occasions. UAB took its largest lead of the opening half, 25-22, on a three-point bucket by Jones at the 5:35 mark. Southern Miss responded with a 9-0 run to close the half and held a 31-25 lead at the break.
The Golden Eagles came out in the second half and took their first double-digit lead at the 16:11 mark, 44-34, on a jumper by Stephanie Helgeson. UAB cut its defecit to seven two times, but Southern Miss began to pull away late in the game and ultimately left with a 12-point win over the Blazers, 79-67.
"Tonight was a tough loss for us," said UAB head coach Audra Smith. "We seem to always have a tough time with Southern Miss and this game was no different.
"We were making shots, but we struggled to stop them from scoring. Every time we made a basket, we gave up one. We were just trading baskets with them.
"Our biggest downfall of the night was rebounding. We let Southern Miss get way too many rebounds, especially offensive boards."
UAB shot 44.1 percent overall, including 48.1 percent in the second half. The Blazers hit 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) from three-point range and 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) from the charity stripe.
Jones was 7-of-15 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, for her 19 points towards the Blazers' total. Jones also added four rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block on the night.
Salaam's 19 points was courtesy of 6-of-14 shooting and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe, while also adding four steals for UAB.
Junior forward Erica Simpson went 4-of-4 from the field for nine points and junior forward Tamika Dukes added eight points and a team-best five boards against Southern Miss.
Southern Miss shot 48.1 percent in the first half, but improved to 58.8 percent in the second half for 54.1 percent shooting overall. The Golden Eagles were 2-of-6 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc and 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) from the free throw line.
Southern Miss also held a 42-23 advantage on the boards against the Blazers, including 17 offensive rebounds for the Golden Eagles.
Joining Love in double figures for Southern Miss was senior guard Amber Eugene, who added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Tanesha Washington chipped in 12 points, going 6-of-9 from the field for the Golden Eagles.
UAB will return to the hardwood on Saturday when it hosts UCF in a C-USA matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at Bartow Arena.
