The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Charlotte
UAB Falls To Charlotte In Regular Season Finale, 64-60
3/7/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 7, 2014
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Senior Karisma Chapman scored 26 points and sophomore Brittany Winborne earned a double-double in the UAB women's basketball team's loss to Charlotte, 64-60. It was the final game of the regular season for the Blazers.
"It's a hard loss," said head coach Randy Norton. "We have lost four in a row. It's a unique situation because at Southern Miss and Middle Tennessee, the two top teams in the league, we had an eight and ten point lead with five minutes left, so we played really good basketball. Then on senior day, we played awful. It was the worst game we've had all year. Today I thought our kids really fought and played hard. I could see the eye of the tiger."
UAB (15-14, 7-9 C-USA) shot 39.7 percent from the field, while Charlotte (15-14, 9-7 C-USA) finished 42.3 percent field. The Blazers won the battle in the paint, scoring 46 points under the basket to the 49ers 26. The difference came on the free throw line, where UAB shot just 45 percent.
"As I just told them, it came down to free throws," remarked Norton. "We had more field goals than them, 11 turnovers to their 19 turnovers, but we were 9-of-20 from the free throw line and we were 19-of-21. As I told them, that's going to happen, but what I am most proud about is that we fought until the end."
The Blazers were down by as many as eight points in the game, but kept fighting to cut the lead to two, 62-60, with 21 seconds left on the clock.
The team had a chance to tie it up after junior Miranda Burroughs hustled for a steal on the 49ers' in-bounds pass, but UAB turned it back over and Charlotte converted two free throws to seal the game.
Three players tallied double digits on the afternoon. Chapman led the team with 26 points, Winborne scored a career-high 17 points and sophomore Chelsee Black added 11 points.
Winborne also led the team with 14 rebounds to earn the second double-double of her career.
UAB found itself down by eight at the 14:49 mark in the first half and two consecutive layups by Chapman helped cut the lead to four. The Blazers were able to cut the lead to two points several times, but Charlotte would respond and pull away again.
The 49ers were up 28-22 with two minutes to go in the first half, but a layup from Chapman and a 3-pointer by Black sent UAB into the half down by just one.
Shortly out of halftime, the Blazers took the lead with a quick layup from Chapman. UAB held a three-point lead, 41-38, at the 11 minute mark in the second half until Charlotte's Lefty Webster hit a 3-pointer to tie the game up 41-41.
Both teams traded baskets and a layup from sophomore Khoria Newman tied the game up 45-45, but Charlotte used a 6-0 run to regain the lead and eventually hold on for the win.
Webster led the 49ers with 13 points, while Gabby Tyler added 12 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.
"We had kids come off the bench who were willing to step up and fight for us. I respect that. We will regroup now, and we will get ready to go make a run at the conference tournament. That's all I know to do. We are just going to keep battling."
UAB will now prepare for the Conference USA Tournament in El Paso, Texas. The Blazers will be the No. 8 seed to earn a first round bye and will play on Wednesday, March 12 at 11 a.m. MT. The full bracket and championship information will be released later today.
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For women's basketball news, follow @UAB_WBB.
