The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
South Carolina State
Blazers Coast In Home Opener
11/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2015
Box Score
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Senior Chelsee Black posted a game-high 19 points and UAB held a dominant advantage on the boards en route to a 71-38 victory over visiting South Carolina State Friday at Bartow Arena.
"Non-conference is all about getting ready for the conference season," said UAB head coach Randy Norton. "We want to win the championship and we make no bones about it. Everyday in practice and in every game, it's all about preparation for us to compete for a championship."
UAB (1-2) started the game aggressivly on the defensive side of the floor. The Lady Bulldogs started 7-for-24 from the field in the first half. SCSU was held to just nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes, turning the ball over six times. Conversely, the Blazers started 13-of-28 in the first half, including 6-of-13 from downtown. Freshman Deanna Kuzmanic recorded nine of her 12 points in the opening half.
Black gave UAB an 18-point lead towards the end of the first half, UAB's largest lead to that point. The Blazers led 37-22 at the intermission. Brittany Winborne had seven points and seven rebounds at the break.
"Getting extra possessions is something we emphasize in practice and a great way to do it is to go get offensive rebounds," added Norton. "If you're relentless going to the glass, it's extremely difficult to block somebody out, and I felt like our girls really crashed the boards hard and gave us a ton of extra possessions."
SCSU (1-2) cut the Blazer lead to 13 to start the third quarter, but that would be as close as the Lady Bulldogs would be able to get. Black netted one of her four treys to end the third period making the score 59-34.
The Blazer bench put an exclamation mark on the win with six fourth quarter points, totaling 21 for the reserves on the afternoon.
The Green and Gold out-rebounded SCSU, 54-22, tallying 25 offensive rebounds for 25 second chance points. UAB scored 17 points off the Lady Bulldogs' 11 turnovers.
"If we get our inside outside game going we are going to have a great balance which is what we need," Norton said. "I feel like this is my first year at UAB where it seems like we are going to have some balance. We can go inside and we've got some girls that can get out and knock shots down. If we get operating on all cylinders, we are going to be tough to beat."
Winborne finished the game with 10 rebounds and nine points. Keonna Farmer added eight points and nine boards.
UAB returns to action Sunday at 5 p.m. CT to take on No. 6 Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Conference USA Men's and Women's Basketball Championship is set to return to Birmingham for the second consecutive year, marking the third time the Blazers will host the event. The men's tournament as well as the women's semifinals and championship will be played at the Legacy Arena in downtown Birmingham, while the women's first round and quarterfinal action will take place at UAB's Bartow Arena.
For more information on the UAB women's basketball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_WBB), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABWBB) and on Instagram (Instagram.com/uab_wbball). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official social media accounts of UAB Athletics on Twitter (@UABAthletics), on Facebook (Facebook.com/UAB.Blazers), on Instagram (@uabathletics) and on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
