The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
South Alabama
Blazers Top South Alabama for Third Straight Win
12/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Box Score (PDF)
MOBILE, Ala. – Freshman Deanna Kuzmanic scored a career-high 20 points to help vault UAB to a 53-39 win Sunday afternoon at the Mitchell Center.
Sunday’s contest marked the third straight win for the Green and Gold following home wins against Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Mississippi Valley State.
“It’s a credit to our team to play so well without Chelsee Black in the lineup,” said UAB head coach Randy Norton. “I thought our girls really had the mentality of next person up”
Brittany Winborne paced the Blazers with six points and eight rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. The senior forward was dominant on both ends of the floor to give UAB a 23-17 advantage at the break. Winborne finished the evening with 12 points and 15 rebounds, her second double-double of the season.
Deanna Kuzmanic buried a deep triple to start the second half then knocked down a contested baseline jumper on the very next possession to jumpstart a 9-0 Blazer run that gave them a 32-17 lead with 7:07 left in the third quarter. The freshman guard connected on two buckets from downtown, bringing her season total from three-point range to 22.
“Mentally, Deanna is ahead of most freshmen,” said Norton. “She’s got a great basketball IQ, she’s very skilled and she’s really tough.”
Senior Kayla Anderson ended the third quarter with an authoritative block that leaped her ahead of Deanna Jackson for the most blocks in program history (126).
South Alabama (2-5) got a much needed three from Colby Davis with 7:22 to play in the game to cut the UAB lead to 16. However, the Blazers refused to give up any easy shots down the stretch and cruised to another decisive victory.
The Green and Gold played tenacious defense from the opening tip. The Blazers held South Alabama to 32.6 percent shooting from the floor and 35 percent from beyond the arc.
UAB (5-4) continued its theme of outhustling opponents in the paint, which was especially evident tonight as they won the battle of the boards over the Jaguars, 46-27.
“The team that dominates the boards generally wins the game,” added Norton. “All the players stepped up and did some really nice things.”
The Blazers return home Friday looking to make it four straight wins as they take on Troy at 7:00 p.m. CT
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).
