Flurry of Three Pointers Lifts UAB Over South Alabama

Thursday, December 21

Mobile, Ala.

1:05 P.M.

UAB

10-2

South Alabama

7-4

UAB

South Alabama

Flurry of Three Pointers Lifts UAB Over South Alabama

12/21/2017 4:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score BOX SCORE SEASON STATS

MOBILE, Ala. – Combining to hit a season-high 11 three pointers, the UAB women's basketball team defeated South 78-66 on Thursday afternoon inside The Mitchell Center. The Blazers improve to 10-2 on the season while the Jaguars fall to 7-4.

"I'm really proud of our team," head coach Randy Norton said. "I thought we really showed a tremendous amount of grit today in beating a really good South Alabama team on its home court. We got off to a great start but we knew South Alabama was going to make a run because they have beaten North Carolina this season. I'm proud of the resilience and the toughness that we showed to win that game on the road. It was a great way to go into Christmas break."

UAB came out of the gates firing on all cylinders going 9-20 from the field with two three pointers to build a 20-11 lead after the initial 10 minutes.

The offensive effort poured into the second quarter as Rachael Childress and Miyah Barnes combined for four consecutive three pointers and the Blazers saw their lead increase to 19 at the 5:52 mark of the second quarter. The Jaguars responded with a 14-5 run to end the first half but the Blazers took a 35-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.

South Alabama opened the second half on an 11-4 run and took its first lead of the contest with 3:51 left in the third quarter. The UAB offense once again took over hitting its final three shots of the quarter to take a 48-45 lead going into the final 10 minutes.

The Blazers stretched their lead seven with 7:48 left to play following consecutive deep balls from Barnes and Deanna Kuzmanic. South Alabama got as close as five in the closing minutes but six clutch free throws from Barnes sealed the game giving UAB the victory.

"Miyah Barnes hitting free throws late is what wins games," Norton said. "If she steps up there and doesn't hit those then South Alabama has the momentum but making those kept the momentum for us. Those were really clutch free throws and I thought she played like veteran today, she really had an outstanding game running the show for us. She distributed the ball, hit big shots, but those free throws were clutch and that's what sticks out."

Childress finished with a game high 27 points going 7-13 from long range matching her career high for three pointers hit. Barnes and Kuzmanic also finished in double figures with 17 and 12 points, respectively.

Imani Johnson, the Blazers' most consistent weapon off the bench this season, netted eight points to go along with six rebounds.

The Blazers held Chyna Ellis, South Alabama's leading scorer averaging 16.2 points per game, to just nine points and six rebounds in the contest. Shaforia Kines led the Jaguars in scoring with 15 points as she went 3-7 from long range.

UAB won the battle down low tallying 22 points to South Alabama's 18 in the paint. Additionally, the Blazers netted 16 points to the Jaguars' eight off turnovers and converted for 13 second chance points.

The Blazers take a break for the holidays before returning to Bartow Arena to host Tuskegee on December 30 at 2 p.m.

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