The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Marshall
UAB Drops Afternoon Matinee to Marshall
2/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – An explosive first quarter was not enough for the UAB women’s basketball team as it fell to Marshall, 73-65, at the Cam Henderson Center on Thursday afternoon.
It was a balanced offensive attack for the Blazers as four scored double figures. Chelsee Black became UAB’s 18th all-time leading scoring, thanks to a 13-point showing. The Bessemer, Alabama, native netted a team-high 13 points in the attack. Meanwhile, senior forward Brittany Winborne earned her 17th career double-double, her 14th of the year, as she poured in 12 points while reeling in a game-best 11 rebounds.
Freshman guard Deanna Kuzmanic added 12 points for UAB, while senior forward Kayla Anderson chipped in 11, shooting 5-of-8 from the floor.
UAB (13-13, 6-9) came out on fire as it opened the contest with a 9-2 run. The Blazers’ savvy offense earned them an 18-8 lead at the end of the opening quarter. Winborne led the attack with 10 points and eight rebounds in the opening 10 minutes.
After trading buckets to open the second, a Marshall 9-2 run, paired with a five-minute Blazers scoring drought, cut the UAB lead to 3, 26-23, with 3:42 remaining. Heading into the break, the Blazers held a 29-23 lead, as it closed out the opening half with back-to-back buckets.
The third quarter did not go the Blazers’ way as the Herd mounted a comeback, thanks to outscoring UAB 29-13. Marshall sank 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) of its shots on its way to claiming its first lead, 36-34, with 5:35 remaining in the third, which UAB would never recover from. At the end of the third, the Herd held a 10-point lead, 52-42.
UAB fought tooth and nail until the end as it outscored Marshall 23-21 in the fourth, but it was not enough to erase the deficit. Black came to life in the final quarter as she scored 9 of her 11 points.
Marshall (17-9, 7-8) was led by Leah Scott and Chelsey Romero, who netted 21 and 19 points, respectively. The duo finished 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) combined from the floor, while Scott secured a team-high nine rebounds.
In the game, UAB outscored Marshall 13-7 in second-chance points. The Blazers out-rebounded the Herd 43-35, due to an outstanding 20 offensive boards. UAB shot 13-of-16 from the charity stripe (81.3 percent), its highest of the season.
UAB continues its road swing as it heads to WKU on Saturday for its final road contest of the regular season. The Blazers and Lady Toppers are slated to tip at 2 p.m.
