The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
High Point
Blazers Complete Comeback, Down High Point 75-66
11/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
GAME INFORMATION
UAB 75, High Point 66 Records: UAB (2-2, 0-0 C-USA), High Point (1-3, 0-0 OVC)
Location: Birmingham, Ala. at Bartow Arena (8,500)
Series Record: UAB remains a perfect 4-0 against High Point, and 2-0 in Bartow Arena
UAB HIGHLIGHTS
- Sophomore Deanna Kuzmanic made her 35th consecutive start, the longest active streak on the team
- Sophomore Deanna Kuzmanic netted a season-best 17 points, the 24th double figure scoring game of her career and second this season
- Freshman Rachael Childress dropped 16 points, the most of her career
- Junior Kara Rawls scored 10 points, the second most of her career and the most of the season
- Junior Whytney Singleton set a career high in assists with four. She surpassed her previous personal record of three set on Nov. 11, 2016 against Gardner Webb
- Freshman Miyah Barnes' six points ended her double figure scoring streak at three games. It was the longest active streak on the team
- Freshman Miyah Barnes made her first career start
- Freshman Miyah Barnes set a new career high in steals with two
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Panthers jumped out to an early 21-14 lead as they shot 8-of-13 from the floor (61.5 percent) while holding UAB to just 6-of-20 from the field
- UAB bounced back quickly in the second as it outscored HPU 25-16, which the Panthers would never recover from
- UAB, who has outscored its opponents in the second half in all four games of the year, played lockdown defense in the second half, outscoring High Point 36-29 on its way to a 75-66 win.=
BREAKING DOWN THE BOX SCORE
- Each quarter UAB held High Point to fewer points than the previous (1Q 21; 2Q 16; 3Q 15, 4Q 14)
- UAB shot 50 percent in the second half on its way to 36 points (13-of-26)
- Three Blazers scored in double figures with Deanna Kuzmanic leading the way with a season best 17 points. Rachael Childress dropped a career-best 16 points while Kara Rawls chipped in 10
- Kara Rawls narrowly missed a double-double as she reeled in a game-best nine boards, paired with 10 points
- UAB's bench produced 36 points - in every game, the Bench has produced over 30 points
- The Blazers capitalized on High Point's 20 turnovers, scoring 21 points off the mishaps
- UAB committed just seven turnovers to High Point's 20
- UAB erased a seven-point deficit as it outscored HPU by nine points in the second
QUOTABLE
Randy Norton on the win…
I thought it was a good team win. I thought our bench was outstanding. I thought our starters were ready to go today. Defense is going to be what it takes for this team to be successful. We've got a team that's got a lot of fire power. It's a good key win. This is going to be a process. We've got a lot of kids that haven't been in this position before, whether it be juniors that didn't get minutes last year or freshmen that had never played college basketball, but as long as we can focus on the things that we have control over- that's playing hard and having great attitudes, this team can have a lot of success.
On what he's thankful for…
I'm thankful for my team - all of them. The thing that they've got to buy into and as I've told them, we have a lot of players that played tonight and it's going to be that way throughout the season. I feel like we've got a deep niche and I need to play them. That's why we're playing so many kids because if I don't play them, they're not going to get that experience. We did a lot of things that we can improve on that will make us a lot better of a team, especially defensively. We did some things that weren't part of the game plan, but again that's just young and learning how to play.
TEAM NOTES
- UAB moves to 2-2 during the 2016-17 season, and remains undefeated against Big South teams.
- Head Coach Randy Norton has not lost consecutive non-conference home games in his four seasons on campus.
- UAB is 2-0 when shooting the same, or lower, 3-point percentage as its opponent this season.
- The Blazers 34 rebounds is their lowest total this season.
- UAB kept a team off the foul line in a half for the first time this season as High Point failed to make it to the line in the second 20 minutes of action
UP NEXT
UAB closes out its three-game homestand on Monday as the Blazers welcome Mississippi Valley State to Bartow Arena. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
For more information on UAB women's basketball, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_WBB), Instagram (@UAB_WBBALL)
