UAB Falls to Southern Miss, 80-63

Thursday, January 18

Birmingham, Ala.

6:00 P.M.

UAB

14-3, 3-1

Southern Miss

10-7, 2-2

Southern Miss

UAB

UAB Falls to Southern Miss, 80-63

1/18/2018 9:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF) Season Stats

Birmingham, Ala. – Double-digit scoring efforts from Rachael Childress, Miyah Barnes and Imani Johnson were not enough as the UAB women's basketball team fell to Southern Miss 80-63 in Bartow Arena on Thursday evening.

Childress finished the game with a team-high 19 points, the 14^th time the sophomore has scored in double figures this season, while Barnes and Johnson finished with 13 points and 10 points, respectively.

"I told our team that this game is not a failure if we learn from it," head coach Randy Norton said. "You are going to have nights in basketball when the ball won't go in the hole and the other team will have shots falling down. That said, there is no doubt in my mind that our team will come back on Saturday ready to play."

Sophomore Angela Vendrell fell one point shy of double figures with nine points to go along with four rebounds and three blocks. Senior Kara Rawls was a rebounding machine for the Blazers, pulling down 10 boards, the fourth time she has pulled at least 10 rebounds this season, as well as two blocks and a steal.

UAB (14-3, 3-1) finished the game shooting 42 percent (21-for-50) and 40 percent (8-for-20) from 3-point range.

Southern Miss (10-7, 2-2) was led by Shonte Harris, who finished the game with 28 points. Jayla King also had a big night for the visitors, recording a double-double for the Golden Eagles with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

It was Golden Eagles that had the hot hand early in the game, opening 5-for-9 from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the arc to take a 12-9 advantage at the first media timeout. UAB was able to find its groove in the opening period, using a 6-0 run to retake the lead at 15-12 with 2:51 remaining.

After finishing the quarter up 20-18, Southern Miss exploded out with a 9-1 run, with all nine points coming from Hailes, to extend its lead to 29-19 with 6:56 before halftime.

Back-to-back triples from Childress and a tight defensive stretch saw the lead cut to 34-30 with just 2:34 to play. However, Hailes rattled in a 3-point basket as time expired to give the Golden Eagles a 40-33 halftime lead.

The Blazers opened the third quarter with a bang, using an 11-5 run courtesy of five points from Vendrell and triples from Childress and Barnes to cut the visitor's advantage to 45-44 with 7:09 to play in the third period.

Southern Miss answered in a big way, though, using a 7-0 run over the next 2:18 of play to go up 52-44. The visitors then saw their first double-digit lead of the evening 1:50 before the end of the quarter as Hailes hit two free throws to put the Golden Eagles up 58-48.

UAB battled in the fourth period, hitting 50 percent (4-for-8) of its shots, but it was not enough as Southern Miss was able to put up its fourth-straight 20-point quarter and secure its 80-63 victory.

The Green and Gold returns to the hardwood on Saturday, Jan. 20, as the Blazers face North Texas on Alumni Day. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. CST with the game being televised on CUSA.tv.

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).