The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
SMU
Jones, Dukes Lead Blazers to Upset Over No. 3 SMU
3/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 9, 2010
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TULSA, Okla. -- Freshman guard Amber Jones scored a career-high 23 points and senior forward Tamika Dukes added a career-high 21 as sixth-seeded UAB upset No. 3 seed SMU, 64-55, in the quarterfinals of the 2010 GMC Sierra Conference USA Women's Basketball Championship at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
The Blazers advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2007 and will face No. 2 Houston at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Houston advances after defeating No. 10 seed UTEP, 57-55, on Tuesday night. Wednesday's semifinal game will air live on CBS College Sports.
With the win, UAB improves to 16-14 on the year while SMU falls to 20-10 on the year.
Jones connected on 8-of-15 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers and helped the Blazer reserves outscore their Mustang counterparts, 41-7. She also added four assists and four rebounds.
Dukes posted her 26th double-digit game of the season, making it 22 of hte last 23 she has scored double figures. She also nailed her first 3-pointer of the season during a stretch in the second half when she scored 10 straight points for the Blazers.
C-USA Freshman of the Year Jala Harris chipped in 16 points, sophomore guard Miteka Trueheart paced the Blazers with seven rebounds and junior guard Amanda Peterson tallied a game-best four steals.
Guards Jillian Samuels and Haley Day tied for the SMU scoring lead with 13 points each and forward Alice Severin was close behind with 10. Center Christine Elliott fell two points shy of a double-double with eight points and a game-best 16 rebounds.
SMU came out of the gate on fire and ran out to a 12-point lead at 18-6 at the midway point of the first half. UAB, however, answered with a 12-0 run to tie the game less than four minutes later. The two teams traded the next four points and SMU used a 5-2 rally at the end of the stanza to go into the locker room on top, 25-22.
The slugfest continued early in the second half, but with the score tied at 30-30 at the 16:12 mark, Dukes hit a jumper and the Blazers never trailed again. It remained a one-possession game for most of the next 5:33 before UAB rattled off 13 straight points to take a commanding 53-39 advantage with 6:57 left in regulation. The Mustangs answered with an 8-0 rally cut the deficit to six at 53-47 at the 1:57 mark, but that is as close as UAB would allow them to get the rest of the way.
