The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Houston
UAB Falls Short Against Houston, 63-62
1/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 24, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB freshman guard Jala Harris scored a career-high 26 points, but the Blazers fell short against the Houston Cougars, 63-62, on Sunday evening in Bartow Arena. UAB remains tied atop Conference USA at 4-1 and is 10-7 overall.
"We fought really hard to battle back from 18 down," UAB head coach Audra Smith said. "We went up and went back down, but we had a chance in the end. We could have put ourselves in a better situation, but we weren't able to do that tonight so we have to learn from our mistakes and prepare for East Carolina. I'm not going to let them hang their heads because we have a lot of ball to play."
Harris scored 20 of her points in the second half as UAB overcame an 18-point deficit to tie the game with 5:33 to play. The Madison, Ala., native tallied 10 of those points during the Blazers' 13-2 run that tied the game. It marked the fifth time in the last six games that Harris has cracked the 20-point mark and the second straight game she has knocked down a career-best four 3-pointers.
"She was focused and that's just how Jala is going to come out," Smith said. "She put us on her back and said that we are not going to lose this game. She had the hot hand and did a phenomenal job to help with us come back."
Senior forward Tamika Dukes contributed her 12th double-digit game in a row with 12 points to go along with seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Freshman guard Amber Jones chipped in nine points and matched her career-high of five assists, while sophomore guard Miteka Trueheart grabbed six boards and had four points.
Houston (9-9, 3-2 C-USA) had a trio of player reach double figures, with forward Courtney Taylor's 16 points and 10 rebounds leading the way. Guards Porsche Landry and Brittney Scott scored 12 and 11, respectively.
The loss snapped UAB's six-game winning streak and four-game conference winning streak.
After a seesaw battle through the first half, UAB led by a point with 2:22 left in the first. That's when Houston began to mount its lead, using an 8-0 run to close out the half with a 33-26 lead.
The Cougars built their lead to 18 thanks to an 11-0 run to open the second half. UAB ended the run with Harris' first trey of the game at the 14:43 mark, sparking a 14-7 run that pull the Blazers within nine.
After another spurt, UAB took a one-point lead with 3:59 to play and expanded that lead to three with 2:10 left. Taylor cut the lead to one at the 2:00 mark, and Landry's layup with 25 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner.
UAB hits the road for the next four games, beginning with East Carolina on Thursday. The Blazers and Pirates tip off at 6 p.m. CST.
