UAB Comeback Falls Short Against Indiana, 71-63

Friday, November 24

San Francisco, Calif.

2:00 P.M.

UAB

3-1

Indiana University

4-1

UAB

Indiana

UAB Comeback Falls Short Against Indiana, 71-63

11/24/2017 5:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Moraga, Calif. – The UAB women's basketball team pulled within two possessions in the dying minutes of a heated battle against Indiana but could not overcome a double-digit deficit in the final period as the Blazers fell to the Hoosiers, 71-63, in the first game of the Hilton Concord Classic on Friday afternoon.

Down 59-44 with 6:18 to play, UAB closed the gap to 67-61 with just under two minutes remaining. However, Indiana was able to do just enough from the charity stripe to hold off the furious UAB rally.

"We knew coming into the game that Indiana's two biggest strengths were their transition offense and their offensive rebounding," head coach Randy Norton said. "We got hurt a couple of times in transition and we gave up too many offensive rebounds. Other than that, I thought our girls really battled. We hung in there and gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game. It was definitely a game that we can build off."

Junior Deanna Kuzmanic had an impressive game for the Blazers against Indiana, finishing with a career-high 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting and an impressive 6-for-7 performance from behind the arc. She also finished the game with five rebounds.

Joining Kuzmanic in double figures were sophomore guards Rachael Childress and Miyah Barnes. Childress finished the game with 13 points and matched Kuzmanic's five rebounds, while Barnes finished the contest with 11 points and a team-leading 6 assists.

Whytney Singleton provided a spark off the bench for the Green and Gold, adding in a season-best seven points and four rebounds, while newcomer Talia Roldan matched her career-high in scoring with four points off the bench. Katelynn Thomas rounded UAB's scoring attack with six points.

Indiana's Tyra Buss led the Hoosiers in scoring with 22 points, while Amanda Cahill and Kym Royster each finished with double-doubles in the game.

The two teams traded blows in the first quarter with the largest lead for either side being UAB's 16-12 advantage at the 3:35 mark of the period.

UAB opened its largest lead of the game at 29-24 with 7:37 to play in the second period after a made 3-pointer by Kuzmanic and two made layups by Thomas. However, Indiana used a 13-3 run over the final seven minutes of the second quarter to take a 37-32 lead into the locker room.

Finding itself down at the break, UAB put its head down in the third quarter and cut the lead to 44-40 after a made 3-point basket by Childress before a 7-0 run by Indiana gave the home side a double-digit advantage just before the final quarter.

With the game seemingly out of sight with the Hoosiers up 59-44 with just over six minutes to play, the Green and Gold portrayed their never-say-die attitude and stormed back to cut the lead to 67-66 with 1:45 left in the game.

Barnes had a couple of good opportunities to cut into the lead late, but could not get any of her shots to fall, allowing for Indiana to just enough at the free throw line to escape with a 71-63 win over the Blazers.

UAB closes out the Hilton Concord Classic on Saturday when the Green and Gold squares off against UC-Santa Barbara for the first time in program history. Tipoff is slated for 2:00 p.m. CST/Noon PST.

For more information on the UAB women's basketball team follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_WBB), Instagram (UAB_WBBALL) or like them on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABWBB).