Blazers Extend Win Streak to Seven, Top WKU 79-61

Saturday, January 13

Birmingham, Ala.

6:30 P.M.

UAB

14-2, 3-0

WKU

12-5, 3-1

WKU

UAB

Blazers Extend Win Streak to Seven, Top WKU 79-61

1/13/2018 10:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After trailing at halftime for just the third time this season, the UAB women's basketball team stormed out of the gate in the second half and outscored WKU 40-20 to propel the Blazers to a 79-61 win over the Lady Toppers on Saturday night.

The Blazers are off to their best start in program history at 14-2, surpassing the previous best record of 13-2 set by the 1981-82 team. UAB also extended its win streak to seven games, its longest since winning eight-in-a-row in 2011-12.

UAB's victory snapped a five-game skid against WKU and marks its first win over the Lady Toppers since Nov. 26, 2011 when the Green and Gold claimed a 58-36 win at home.

"It was a really great win for our program," head coach Randy Norton said. "I told our players this is all part of the process. It is one game. We have given them the 24-hour rule. They have 24 hours to enjoy this and then next week is redemption week. Our girls are going to be ready to go."

Sophomores Miyah Barnes and Rachael Childress were virtually unstoppable in the game as both finished the contest with a team high 18 points on a combined 11-for-20 from the floor and 7-for-10 from behind the arc. Barnes added a team-best six assists to her impressive stat line, while Childress hauled in four rebounds and added two assists of her own.

Deanna Kuzmanic was the only other Blazer in double figures, tacking on 15 points to go along with two boards, a block and a steal. Fellow starters Kara Rawls and Angela Vendrell also added solid games as Rawls posted six points and six rebounds, while Vendrell scored four points, brought down six rebounds and dished out six assists.

Off the bench, the Blazers' posts were dominant, led by Imani Johnson who finished the game with eight points and season-high seven rebounds. Katelynn Thomas also added valuable minutes off the bench, finishing with six points, five rebounds and two blocks.

WKU was led by Ivy Brown, who finished the game with 25 points, nine rebounds and six blocks. Dee Givens (14) and Tashia Brown (13) also scored in double digits for the Lady Toppers.

UAB and WKU were locked in a scoring battle for most of the first quarter until Childress stepped back and drained a 3-pointer with 59 seconds remaining in the opening period to put the Blazers up 20-13.

The Lady Toppers chipped away at the lead early in the second period, using a 9-4 run to tie the game up at 24 points apiece. The momentum began to swing in WKU's favor towards the end of the quarter as it took a 32-31 at the 4:09 mark of the quarter.

With all signs pointing towards WKU taking a four-point advantage into the locker room, Childress drove hard into the paint and knocked down a layup as time expired to cut the lead to 41-39 after 20 minutes of play.

The Blazers shot out of the gate in the third quarter, using a 12-5 run over the opening five minutes to take a 51-45 lead following seven-straight points from Barnes. The Lady Toppers were not going to go away, though, as they battled back at the end of the quarter to cut the Blazer lead to 57-54.

UAB opened its first double-digit lead of the game with 6:32 remaining as Johnson was true on two free throws to push the lead to 66-56. From there, a stout Blazer defense held the Lady Toppers to just seven points on 21.4 percent (3-for-14) shooting and did not let the lead slip below double figures as the Green and Gold earned its third league win of the year, 79-61.

UAB closes out its three-game home stand next weekend as the Blazers host Southern Miss on Jan. 18 and North Texas on Jan. 20.

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).