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UAB's Fiery First Half Staves off Rice Comeback
1/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats
Houston, Texas – First-half magic enabled the UAB women’s basketball team to earn a 64-55 road win at Rice on Thursday night. The Blazers’ top-scoring duo of senior guard Chelsee Black and freshman guard Deanna Kuzmanic led UAB in the attack pouring in 17 points apiece.
Kuzmanic and Black combined for a 9-of-17 (53 percent) showing from long range, pushing the Blazers past the Owls. Kuzmanic, who earned her third-straight game with 17 or more points, ranks third in the nation in triples per game (2.6) and it showed, as she went 4-of-8 from long range. Black became UAB’s 20th all-time leading scorer as she totals 1,181 points in her career.
UAB (10-7, 3-3) spurted out to an early lead, thanks to a 15-2 run to close out the first quarter, enabling it to take a 21-11 lead. The Blazers extended their lead as they went on a 9-2 run to open the second quarter and more than doubled the Owls’ total, owning a 30-13 lead. UAB was on fire as it was 12-of-22 from the field, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, with just 4:16 remaining in the second quarter.
However, Rice hit some key buckets as it closed out the first half on an 11-2 run, but the Blazers held a distinctive advantage, leading 32-21.
The third quarter put pressure on UAB as Rice cut into the Blazer lead, in part to a 19-9 Owl-run, to give UAB a one point lead, 41-40, with 3:19 to play. The Owls were shooting 64 percent as they were 6-of-8 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
The Blazers would not go down without a fight as they never relinquished their lead. Heading into the fourth and final quarter, UAB held on to its lead, 46-42.
After Rice cut the lead back down to four on the opening possession, the Blazers bounced back on a 9-0 run to give some cushion to their lead, 55-44, at the 6:30 mark. The Owls would not go quietly as their press allowed them to respond with a 9-0 run of their own, holding the Blazers scoreless for four minutes, to make it a two-point game, 55-53, with 4:32 on the clock.
Kuzmanic would not allow it. She halted the run with a triple to make it a two-possession game. From there, Kuzmanic and Black went into cruise control as they scored the remaining six points to earn the road victory.
In the game, UAB shot an even 50 percent (25-of-50) from the floor and an impressive 47.4 percent (9-of-19) from 3-point range. Conference USA’s top-ranked defense held the Owls to just 55 points as they shot 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) from deep and 50 percent overall.
Brittany Winborne reeled in a game-high eight boards and chipped in eight points on the night. Kuzmanic dished out a game-best four assists.
Rice was led by a trio of owls as Jasmine Goodwine (16), Wendy Knight (12) and Maya Hawkins (11) scored in double figures. Goodwine reeled in a team-high seven boards.
UAB continues its road swing in Texas as it heads just north of Dallas to face North Texas in Denton on Saturday afternoon at the Super Pit.
The Conference USA Men's and Women's Basketball Championships are 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 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 UAB men's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_WBB), on Instagram (@UAB_WBBALLs) or on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABWomensBasketball). 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) or on Snapchat (@uabathletics).
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