The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Memphis
Memphis Slips By UAB, 65-60
2/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2009
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Ashley Thornton scored 22 points and Paris Leonard added 21 points as Memphis got a 65-60 win over the UAB women's basketball team on Saturday evening at Bartow Arena. Senior guard Britney Jones paced the Blazers with 24 points, marking her 12th straight game scoring in double figures.
UAB falls to 9-14 overall and 4-6 in Conference USA. Memphis improves its record to 9-14 overall and 2-8 in league play.
UAB jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead to begin the game, but Memphis came crawling back to take its first lead of the game, 13-12, at the 13:26 mark in opening half. Staying within a one possession game for most of the remainder of the half, the Tigers took a three-point lead into the break, 30-27.
Memphis got some momentum going early in the second half and took a 10-point lead at the 13:28 mark, 43-33, after a three-point basket by Thornton. The Blazers then went on a 12-4 run that pulled them within two, 47-45, with 9:52 left on the clock.
UAB took its first lead of the second half on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Amanda Peterson at the 4:27 mark, 55-54. Memphis regained the lead and went up by four, 60-56, with 2:53 remaining in the game.
Down by four, UAB's Jones got an offensive board and scored a layup to put the Blazers down two, 60-58. Seconds later, Jones got a steal on the Memphis inbounds pass and went up for another layup to tie the game at 60-all with 2:08 left.
A Savannah Ellis layup for Memphis gave the Tigers a two-point lead, 62-60, at 1:44. UAB missed multiple scoring chances and Memphis made a trio of free throws in the final 30 seconds of the game to hang on for the 65-60 win over the Blazers.
UAB edged Memphis in overall shooting, hitting 37.5 percent of its shots on the night compared to 35.7 percent for the Tigers. The Blazers went 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc, while Memphis nailed 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from three-point range.
UAB made 17 trips to the charity stripe, sinking 12 of its attempts (70.6 percent). Memphis went 10-of-20 from the free throw line for the game.
The biggest difference of the night came on the boards, as Memphis held a 53-38 advantage in rebounds. The Tigers grabbed 27 offensive boards for the game and scored 19 second-chance points from that.
"I was disappointed tonight with our effort, especially on the boards," said UAB head coach Audra Smith. "To give up 27 offensive rebounds is unacceptable. We have to do a better job of boxing out and grabbing rebounds.
"I told our team earlier today that in February, everyone starts clawing and fighting for wins. You have to come ready to play and give it everything you have for every game. You can't take a night off in this conference."
Jones' game-high 24 points came on 9-of-17 shooting, including a pair of treys and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe for the Blazers. Along with recording her 12th consecutive game scoring in double-digits, Jones also tallied her 10th 20-plus point effort this season.
Peterson hit four three-point buckets on her way to 16 points for UAB. Freshman forward Shelly Breaux paced the Blazers on the boards with a career-high 12 rebounds, along with a career-best eight points.
Thornton's 22 points led Memphis and was accompanied by nine rebounds as the Pinson, Ala. native fell just shy of a double-double. Leonard reached the double-double plateau with 11 rebounds to go along with her 21 points on the night for the Tigers.
Savannah Ellis led all players with a game-high 13 rebounds for Memphis. Ellis also contributed eight points, three assists and four blocks against UAB.
The Blazers will be back in action on Thursday when they host Tulsa at 8 p.m. CT at Bartow Arena. The game will be televised on CSS.
