Unselfish Play Guides UAB to 105-50 Win Over Tuskegee

Saturday, December 30

Birmingham, Ala.

6:30 P.M.

UAB

11-2

105

Tuskegee

2-10

Tuskegee

UAB

105

Unselfish Play Guides UAB to 105-50 Win Over Tuskegee

12/30/2017 10:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF) Season Stats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Junior forward Deanna Kuzmanic scored a career-high 25 points to pace five Blazers in double figures while the team's unselfish mentality led to a school record 34 assists as the UAB women's basketball team flew past Tuskegee, 105-50, in Bartow Arena on Saturday evening.

UAB wrapped up the non-conference portion of its schedule at 11-2 (.846), its best non-conference record in the Conference USA era and the second best in program history behind the 1994-95 team's 12-2 (.857) finish.

The Blazers' 34 assists are the most in a single game since Feb. 3, 1981, when the team recorded 32 assists against Alabama State. The 105 points scored against Tuskegee marks the 13^th time in program history that the Blazers have gone over the century mark and the first time since scoring 106 points against Miles College on Dec. 28, 2016.

"The game worked out just the way that we had hoped it would," head coach Randy Norton said. "We always let the girls go home for a few days around Christmas, so when we get them back they are a little bit gassed. We were able to get back in the flow of things and get everybody minutes. We are excited to start conference play."

Sophomore's Katelynn Thomas and Imani Johnson were next in line behind Kuzmanic in the score column as they each scored 12 points apiece, while Angela Vendrell matched her career high point total with 11 points. Trista Magee had a big night of her own, scoring a career-high 11 points and hauling in a career-best eight rebounds.

Whytney Singleton dished out a career-high seven assists in the win to go along with eight points, while fellow senior Kara Rawls brought down a team-high 10 boards in addition to her seven points.

UAB was wildly successful in the paint against Tuskegee as the Blazers outscored the Golden Tigers, 42-20 down low. Bench play once again played a strong role as the Blazers saw 52 points from the reserves on Saturday.

The defense was also magnificent on Saturday as the Blazers forced 21 turnovers and recorded 10 steals while holding Tuskegee to 30.6 percent shooting for the game.

The Blazers got off to a red-hot start offensively, opening a double-digit lead less than four minutes into the game after a Thomas layup opened a 13-2 advantage at the 6:14 mark of the first quarter.

That hot shooting continued into the second quarter as the Green and Gold extended its lead to 41-15 before a 7-2 run by Tuskegee over the final two minutes saw UAB take a 43-22 advantage into the break.

Tuskegee hung around at the beginning of the third quarter as the score hovered near the quarter century mark before a Vendrell layup pushed the lead over the 30 points at 61-29 with 4:38 to play in the period.

UAB kept the pressure on, using an 11-0 run across the dying seconds of the third period and into the fourth quarter as the Blazers extended its advantage to 82-35 with 8:21 remaining in the game.

The Green and Gold opened its largest lead of the game with 21 seconds on the clock as Magee buried a deep triple to put UAB up 105-48 before the game finished at 105-50.

With non-conference play in the books, the Blazers will hit the road to kick off C-USA play as the Green and Gold take on Old Dominion on Jan. 4 and Middle Tennessee on Jan. 6. Tipoff for both games is set for 6 p.m. CST.

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).