The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
UTEP
UAB Falls to UTEP, 68-59
2/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2010
EL PASO, Texas -- The Blazers held the UTEP Miners to 22 points in the first half, but a strong second half propelled the Miners to a 68-59 win on Thursday night at the Don Haskins Center. UAB falls to 11-13 and 5-7 in Conference USA, while UTEP improves to 15-11 and 6-6 in C-USA.
"We came out in the first half and did a great job on defense," UAB head coach Audra Smith said. "We had a lot of intensity and energy, but we just didn't have the same amount of energy in the second half. We stayed in the fight and kept battling, but we couldn't close the gap."
Junior guard Amanda Peterson led the Blazers with 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers that moved her into second place in school history with her 195th career trey, surpassing Britney Jones.
"Amanda is a phenomenal 3-point shooter," Smith said. "She has been a steady Eddie for us during her three years and is well-respected throughout the league because other teams have to know where she is and play tight against her or she will make them pay."
Freshman guard Jala Harris and senior forward Tamika Dukes also reached double-figures, scoring 14 and 13, respectively. For Harris, it was the 16th double-digit performance in the last 17 contests and it was Dukes' 20th double-digit game of the season.
Guard Dietra Caldwell and forward Kristine Vitola each scored 15 points to lead UTEP, while guard Jareica Hughes chipped in 12. Forward Timika Williams notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
UAB struggled from the field, shooting 32 percent compared to 47 percent shooting for the Miners. UTEP also owned a 39-33 rebounding advantage.
The Blazers had one of their best performances of the season from the line, hitting the most free throws of the season at 20-of-26. UTEP was 19-of-29 from the charity stripe.
UAB led by as many as five early in the first half before heading into the break trailing, 22-19. The Miners used a 12-4 run to open the second half and stretch their lead to eight.
The Blazers hung around throughout the second period, cutting UTEP's lead to three with 9:53 to play. That was as close as UAB would get as the Miners stretched their lead to as many as 10 before going on to the nine-point win.
UAB wraps up its final road trip at Tulane on Saturday. The Blazers and Green Wave tip off at 4 p.m. CST.
