The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Tulsa
Jones Tops 1,000 Points, Blazers Defeat Tulsa
1/26/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2012
TULSA, Okla. -- Junior guard Amber Jones surpassed the 1,000-point mark for her career Thursday night, and the UAB women's basketball team withstood a late Tulsa rally for a 47-40 road victory at the Reynolds Center.
In what was a defensive struggle for most of the night, the Blazers (14-5, 5-2 C-USA) went on an 11-0 spurt to take what looked like a comfortable, 40-26 lead with just under four minutes to play. But the Golden Hurricane (8-10, 3-4 C-USA) closed with a flurry, getting within two points before UAB was able to close it out.
Sophomore forward Karisma Chapman led UAB with 12 points on the night as the Blazers bounced back from their first two-game losing skid in a calendar year. UAB was out-rebounded by 18.5 boards per game in the two losses. Thursday, the Blazers dominated the glass, 47-34.
Jones, who entered the night with 997 career points, scored five of UAB's first seven Thursday to become the 25th 1,000-point scorer in UAB women's basketball history. She finished the game with 11 points and a game-high six assists as just the 13th Blazer to reach 1,000 before her senior season.
"It's a great accomplishment for Amber to get to 1,000 points with still so much left of her junior year," UAB head coach Audra Smith said. "She has been a good scorer for us since she arrived as a freshman, but she also does so much more both offensively and defensively. Tonight, her passing led to some really key baskets for us."
The Blazers' defense held Tulsa to just 26 points through the first 36 minutes of the game before the Golden Hurricane's late rally. Tulsa shot 26.9 percent for the night and went a seven-minute stretch without a field goal in both halves. UAB, meanwhile, shot just 31.5 percent from the floor.
Chapman scored eight of her 12 points in a four-minute stretch late in the game and gave the Blazers' their 14-point lead on a fastbreak lay-in with 3:59 on the clock. But Tulsa scored 14 of the game's next 16 points and pulled within 42-40 on a pair of Loren McDaniel free throws with 37 seconds to play.
Down 43-40 just seconds later, Tulsa had its best chance to even the game, but Jessica McQuin's 3-point attempt from the corner came up short. UAB's TaRonda Randall and LaShaunda Pratt sealed the win at the free throw line.
"It was an ugly game tonight, but we were still able to go on the road and get a conference win against a much-improved team in Tulsa," Smith said. "Even when shots aren't falling, our kids continue to fight and compete. We did a good job defensively for most of the night, but we had to hang on there at the end."
Randall and fellow post player Meagan Brown combined for 12 points and 14 rebounds on the night. Brown led all players with eight boards.
UAB recorded 12 steals on the night, reaching double-figure steals as a team for the fifth straight game. Chapman had four of those steals to go along with three blocks and seven rebounds in a solid all-around game.
The Blazers now return to Birmingham to continue conference play Sunday against Southern Miss at Bartow Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT.
