The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
East Carolina
Blazers Fall To East Carolina, 70-60
2/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2009
Final Stats |
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Senior guard Britney Jones scored a career-high 31 points on UAB's Senior Day, but it was not enough as the Blazer women's basketball team fell to East Carolina, 70-60, Sunday afternoon at Bartow Arena. LaCoya Terry led a trio of Lady Pirates in double figures with 24 points on the day.
Jones' 31 points surpasses her old career-high of 28, set earlier this season. It marked the first time a Blazer had scored 30-plus points since Carmen Guzman tallied 30 at Auburn on March 18, 2007.
UAB's record fell to 10-17 overall and 5-9 in Conference USA. East Carolina moved its overall record to 16-11, including a 7-7 mark in league play. The victory for the Lady Pirates also served as their first conference road win this season.
East Carolina led from the jump and went up by 10, 24-14, t the 5:12 mark in the first half. The Blazers cut their deficit to four, 32-28, at the break by outscoring the Lady Pirates 14-8 in the final five minutes of the half.
The second half opened with East Carolina extending its lead to 11, 45-34, with 15:33 on the clock. UAB cut it to five, 45-40, but the Lady Pirates went on a 12-3 run to take their largest lead of the game, 57-43, at the 6:36 mark. East Carolina hung on for a 10-point victory in the end, 70-60.
"Britney Jones is one of those players that shows up every night," said UAB head coach Audra Smith. "She just gives us so much on the floor, every game. We need to get more consistency from our other players to add to that.
"We have two regular season games left and then the conference tournament. We need to turn it up and try to finish the season in a positive way. We have to continue to fight."
UAB shot 33.8 percent for the game, including a 31.3 percent in the first half and 36.4 percent in the second half. The Blazers had a hard time finding the mark from long range, hitting just 4-of-26 (15.4 percent) from beyond the arc. UAB also went 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) from the free throw line on the day.
Jones added six rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block to her 31-point performance. Sophomore guard Amanda Peterson and junior guard Fatiha Salaam contributed nine points each for the Blazers, while freshman forward Shelly Breaux chipped in seven points and six boards.
East Carolina hit 48.0 percent in the opening half on its way to 43.8 percent shooting for the game. The Pirates went 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) from three-point range and 24-of-31 (77.4 percent) from the charity stripe.
Terry's 24 points came on 8-of-16 shooting and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Freshman center Jean Best tallied 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while also grabbing five rebounds and blocking a game-high four shots. Ashley Clarke scored 14 points to become the third Lady Pirate in double-digits, with 12 of her points coming at the charity stripe.
UAB will be back in action on Thursday when it travels to Hattiesburg, Miss. to take on Southern Miss. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Reed Green Coliseum.
