The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Loyola Marymount
UAB Edged By Loyola Marymount, 66-61
11/28/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
UAB (3-2) vs. UC Irvine (1-5)
Saturday, Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. PT/3 p.m. CT
Los Angeles, Calif. - Gersten Pavilion
Coverage: Live Stats | Watch
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The UAB women's basketball team fought back from an 11-point deficit to cut the lead to one point with a minute remaining, but Loyola Marymount held on to take the win, 66-61, in the DoubleTree Los Angeles Westside Thanksgiving Classic on Friday afternoon.
"All losses are tough, but in all honesty I felt like our team grew from this game," head coach Randy Norton said. "As I told the team, we battled for 40 minutes. It was a possession-to-possession game and it ended up being a situation where they just shot the ball better than we did. We held them to probably 15 points under their average, but you still have to make baskets and we didn't tonight."
UAB (3-2) and Loyola Marymount (1-3) were tied five times in the final eight minutes of the game as the teams battled until the final seconds. The Blazers out-rebounded the Lions, 38-33, but LMU shot 46.6 percent from the field and won the battle in the paint, 38-20.
Three players scored in double-figures for UAB, led by junior Chelsee Black with 17 points. Senior Janae Smith added 15 points and fellow senior Miranda Burroughs hit four 3-pointers to match her season-high 12 points. Burroughs led the team with five assists and junior Bianca Dufelmeier added three.
Once again UAB was strong from the free throw line, connecting on 11-of-13 after finishing a perfect 11-for-11 in the second half. Defensively, Smith, Burroughs and junior Brittany Winborne all combined to lead the Blazers with six rebounds each.
After a 3-pointer by Smith to open the game, Loyola Marymount scored 10-straight to take a 10-3 advantage and force a UAB timeout at the 15:15 mark. Dufelmeier hit a jumper to put the Blazers back on the board, but the Lions fired back and eventually took their largest lead, 25-14, with 9:42 remaining in the first half.
The Blazers were able to cut the lead to 31-27 heading into halftime after a 6-0 run to close the first half. UAB carried its momentum over into the second half as Burroughs came out and buried a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one, 33-32.
Winborne hit a layup and drew the foul to put the Blazers up 37-36, giving UAB its first lead since the 18:53 mark in the first half. The teams began trading the lead until LMU took a 44-42 advantage after a 3-pointer by Leslie Lopez-Wood.
UAB would tie it up twice before retaking the lead, 50-48, after two free throws by Black with 6:58 left in the game. Then two-straight baskets for LMU would put the Lions back in front, 52-50. The Blazers were able to come back to tie the game two more times, but could not get the lead back as LMU held on to win 66-61.
"In this game you are going to have nights where the ball doesn't go in the hole," Norton stated. "But I am proud of their effort and we will get ready for tomorrow's game."
The loss sends UAB to the consolation game of the DoubleTree LA Westside Thanksgiving Classic against UC Irvine. The two teams are slated to tip off at 1 p.m. PT/3 p.m. CT. Fans can follow live stats and watch the live stream through the links above.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For women's basketball news, follow @UAB_WBB.
