The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Marshall
Jones' Last-Second Shot Propels Blazers to Win Over Marshall
2/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB freshman guard Amber Jones sank a jumper from the baseline as time expired to lift UAB to a 45-44 victory over the Marshall Thundering Herd on Saturday night at Bartow Arena. The Blazers improve to 13-14 overall and 7-8 in Conference USA, while Marshall falls to 14-14 and 6-9 in C-USA.
"I am so unbelievably proud of the way this team kept their composure," UAB head coach Audra Smith said. "Our team gave everything they had in them tonight and Amber Jones, the queen from Town Creek, saved the day. This win will give us confidence in similar situations we may be in later on this season."
"As coaches, we can draw up as many plays as we want at timeouts, but it is up to the players to execute them. Our players took the play, executed it and set big screens for Amber to come off, leaving her wide open to knock down that shot."
Nine different Blazers scored in the contest, with senior forward Tamika Dukes leading the way with 10 points and seven rebounds. It marked her 23rd double-digit scoring performance of the season.
Junior guard Amanda Peterson chipped in eight points, while Jones and freshman guard Jala Harris had seven apiece. Peterson, who knocked down a pair of crucial second-half 3-pointers, surpassed Louisville's Jill Morton for sixth place in C-USA history with her 202nd career trey.
For Marshall, forward Kendra King and guard Chantelle Handy each had 11 points and guard Veronica Ruiz added 10. Although the Herd's leading scorer, Tynikki Crook, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, the UAB defense held her to just two points.
Baskets were few and far between throughout the contest, as UAB shot 35 percent compared to Marshall's 32 percent. The Herd edged the Blazers, 41-40, in rebounds, but UAB had one more steal (4-3) and two fewer turnovers (10-12) than the Herd.
Missed opportunities plagued both sides throughout the game and the final minutes proved no different. The Blazers trailed by one, 40-39, with 2:51 to play before Peterson's second trey of the game gave UAB a two-point advantage. Jones knocked down one of two free throws to make it 43-40 before King's layup at 1:19 pulled the Herd within a point.
With 46 seconds left, Jones missed a jumper and Marshall's Mystee Dale grabbed the rebound. King missed the layup and after multiple offensive boards and missed put-backs, Handy finally converted for the Herd and was fouled. The Herd held the 44-43 edge with eight seconds left before Handy missed the ensuing free throw and Jones grabbed the rebound.
Jones drove the length of the court and threw up a shot, but missed and the ball bounced off a Marshall player and out of bounds with 2.2 seconds remaining. After a UAB timeout, Peterson in-bounded the ball to Jones, who drained the baseline jumper at the buzzer to seal UAB's second straight win.
The Herd led the majority of the first half, stretching its lead to as many as seven with 4:58 to play before the Blazers went on a 9-3 run to end the half down by just a point, 20-19.
Freshman center Jasmine Green opened the second half with her first bucket of the game, sparking a 7-0 run for the Blazers. UAB maintained the lead until the 3:05 mark when Handy's back-to-back baskets gave the Herd a 40-39 its first advantage since halftime.
The Blazers wrap up the regular season on Thursday, hosting Memphis for a 7 p.m. CST contest. The game will feature the previously scheduled Pink Zone festivities, in addition to senior day festivities, honoring seniors Tamika Dukes and Erica Simpson in their final UAB home game.
