UAB Defeats Oklahoma in Junkanoo Jam Semifinals

Thursday, November 22

Bimini, Bahamas

5:15 p.m.

UAB

4-0

Oklahoma

3-1

UAB

Oklahoma

UAB Defeats Oklahoma in Junkanoo Jam Semifinals

11/22/2018 8:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

BIMINI, Bahamas – The UAB women's basketball team is headed to the Championship Game of the Junaknoo Jam Junkanoo Division after it defeated Oklahoma 89-84 on Thursday afternoon.

The win improved UAB to 4-0 on the season, marking the fifth 4-0 start in school history and first since the 1994-95 season.

"It was a great win for our team," head coach Randy Norton said. "It was a great team effort that everybody contributed in. Our bench was in the game and came in and played well, our starters played well and I am really pleased with how we closed out the game in the fourth quarter."

The teams opened the game going shot-for-shot through the opening minutes as Oklahoma led by two just 1:29 into the game. That lead would be the last Sooner lead as Angela Vendrell hit a layup with 7:47 left in the first quarter. Oklahoma tied the game at nine minutes later, before Katelynn Thomas hit her second field goal of the game to put the Blazers ahead 11-9. Trista Magee hit the first of three 3-pointers with 4:08 left in the opening frame to give the Blazers a five point lead. The Sooners cut the lead to one, before Magee connected on another long ball to push the Blazers' lead back to four. UAB went on a 6-0 run in the closing minutes of the first quarter to lead 26-21.

UAB pushed its lead back to five as Rachael Childress connected on the first 3-point shot of the second quarter, before Margaret Whitley and Deanna Kuzmanic rattled in two more as the Blazers led by nine at the media break. Oklahoma went on a 7-0 run after the break, but Childress broke the scoring drought for the Green and Gold with another 3-pointer as 33 seconds remained in the half. Miyah Barnes was fouled with 0:01 seconds left on the clock as she hit a pair of free throws to give UAB a 44-38 lead going into halftime.

Vendrell scored the first points of the second half with a layup, but Oklahoma battled back to score the next four points to cut back into the UAB lead. The squads continued to trade shots as the Sooners went on a 12-9 run going into the media timeout. Tatum Veitenheimer hit a layup for Oklahoma with 3:58 remaining in the third quarter to give the Sooners their final tie of the game at 55 all. Childress broke the tie with a triple on an assist from Vendrell to give UAB a lead it would not relinquish. Barnes was once again fouled in the closing seconds as the junior hit all three shots from the line to give UAB a 68-61 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Barnes grabbed the Blazers' first shot of the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, followed by a Thomas field goal as UAB stretched its lead to 10. Oklahoma closed the gap to one as Madi Williams went 1-for-2 at the free throw line, but Deanna Kuzmanic answered with a 3-pointer with 55 seconds remaining. Barnes and Kuzmanic closed the contest going 4-for-4 at the free throw line to secure the five point win over the Sooners.

"Our team shoots a lot of free throws and they are excellent shooters so I guess I didn't expect anything different," Norton said. "I feel like when they get fouled they are going to get up and knock them down.

"Oklahoma has a great team and it battled back. They have some great shooters, are well coached and is a program that has been to 19 straight NCAA Tournaments. I felt like our kids were up for the challenge because they knew how good Oklahoma was. We still didn't play our best basketball, but we played good enough. Most importantly I felt like our energy and effort were there for the entire 40 minutes."

Thomas was one of five Blazers in double figures as she led the team with a career high 22 points on a 10-of-11 night from the field. The Birmingham native also reeled in eight rebounds and added a pair of free throws.

Childress finished second on the team in scoring with 18 points as she connected on four 3-pointers to go along with seven made field goals.

Barnes made a career high eight free throws on a career best nine attempts en route to 15 points. Conference USA's leader in assists per game dished out seven in tonight's contest.

Kuzmanic was the fourth Blazer in double figures with 13 points on a 3-of-5 night from long range and collected seven rebounds. She also finished with four assists to mark three consecutive games with four or more assists.

Magee was the fifth UAB player to find the double figure scoring column as she finished with 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds. This marked the second time in the redshirt junior's career that she has led the Blazers on the board.

As a team, UAB shot 48.5 percent (32-of-66) from the field. The Blazers have shot above 40 percent in every game this season.

The Blazers entered the night holding opponents just 18.9 percent (10-of-53) from beyond the 3-point the line and they held the Sooners to 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from long range. Teams are shooting a mere 18.5 percent (13-of-70) against the Green and Gold this season.

UAB will face Tennessee in the Championship Game of the Junkanoo Division on Saturday, Nov. 24, at 1 p.m. CST. The Lady Vols defeated Clemson 78-66 in the first quarterfinal matchup of the day.

Women's basketball season tickets are available by purchasing the 2018-19 Gold Card for $65. The Gold Card includes access to home volleyball, baseball and softball games in addition to all 12 of women's basketball's remaining home contests. Contact the UAB Ticket Office, (205) 975-UAB1, for more details.

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