The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
UTEP
UAB Drops Overtime Thriller to No. 1 UTEP
3/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Final Box l Season Stats
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Senior guard Chelsee Black netted a half-court shot as time expired to tie the game at 62-all in the first overtime of the quarterfinals. But after official rule, time had expired to give No. 1 UTEP a 62-59 win over the Blazers.
"I thought I had a storybook ending, but as bad as it hurts I know I left everything on the court," Black said. "It hurts now but I gave it everything I had."
Black, UAB's 16th all-time leading scorer, poured in a game-high 19 points to lead the Blazers' offensive attack. Senior forward Brittany Winborne's 13-and-13 showing earned the Baltimore, Maryland, native her 18th double-double of the season, the 21st of her career. Meanwhile, sophomore guard Whytney Singleton added 9 points for the Blazers after leading them in the previous game with a career-best 16 points.
"It was a heartbreaker," head coach Randy Norton said. "I asked my senior to leave their hearts on the court and they did. I have loved coaching Chelsee (Black) every moment that I've had her. I wanted this so bad and to move on. We really believed we could win this tournament."
UAB (15-16) mounted the comeback after trailing by 8 points at the midway point. In the third, the Blazers and Miners went shot for shot; but UAB held a light 13-12 advantage, cutting the UTEP lead to seven at 40-33.
The Blazers refused to go down without a fight as they outscored the Miners, 17-10, in the fourth quarter. UAB cut the lead to 2 points with 44.5 seconds remaining, thanks to a 7-0 run by T'erra Lewis, Winborne and Singleton.
With 16.4 seconds to play in regulation, Black scored a pair of shots at the line to cut the Miners' lead to one, 49-48. After Jenzel Nash made 1-of-2 at the charity stripe for UTEP, Black stormed down the court and made a layup with five seconds on the clock. The Blazers' C-USA-best defense was on lock as it held the Miners to one shot, which did not go, forcing overtime.
Back-to-back layups by Singleton and Winborne gave the Blazers a 54-50 advantage in bonus basketball, but the Miners finally found their 3-point shot as they scored a pair of buckets to take a 56-54 lead with 2:31 to go.
Lewis, who was 7-of-9 from the charity stripe, sank a pair of free throws to knot the game up with just over a minute to play.
The pair traded free throws before UTEP took a 61-57 lead with 22 seconds on the clock. Kayla Anderson got the Blazers within reach, 61-59, with a second-chance layup; but Chrishauna Parker added a free throw to extend the Miners' lead to 62-59 with three seconds on the clock.
After Parker's second free throw bounced to Winborne, she gave Black the outlet pass. In traffic, Black made it to half court, where it banked in; but time had nearly expired, allowing UTEP to walk away with the win.
UTEP (26-3) had a trio of Miners in double figures. Lulu McKinney and Jenzel Nash contributed 11 points apiece, while Starr Breedlove added 10.
UAB outscored UTEP, 28-24, in the paint and held an 18-11 advantage in second-chance buckets. The Blazers finished the day shooting 34.9 percent from the floor (22-of-63) to the Miners' 33.3 percent (23-of-69).
