UAB Earns Berth in C-USA Title Game with 67-55 Win over Rice

Friday, March 9

Frisco, Texas

5:30 P.M.

UAB

26-5

Rice

22-9

Rice

UAB

UAB Earns Berth in C-USA Title Game with 67-55 Win over Rice

3/9/2018 10:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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FRISCO, Texas – The UAB women's basketball team never trailed on Friday and shot an astonishing 46.2 percent from the floor as the Blazers defeated the Rice Owls, 67-55, to claim a spot in Saturday's Conference USA Championship game.

UAB (26-5, 13-3) is making its first appearance in the C-USA title game since the 2009-10 season and is looking for its first tournament title since the 1993-94 season when it won the Great Midwest Tournament. A win in the title game will mark the Blazers' first C-USA tournament crown in program history.

The Blazers are set to square off with WKU in tomorrow's title bout with tipoff slated for 4:30 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.

"I thought we showed a little bit of everything that we have done all year," head coach Randy Norton said. "You saw toughness. You saw fight. You saw some really good basketball at times. We were so poised when we needed poise. The girls stepped up and made shots when we needed to make shots and got stops when we needed to get stops. I am just really proud of our team and we are excited to have an opportunity to play tomorrow."

Sophomore Rachael Childress provided the spark for the Green and Gold's offense, scoring 18 points in the win on a 5-for-9 effort from the field which included a 4-for-6 mark from long range. Childress has now led the team in scoring 11 times this season and moved into third for career 3-pointers made with 196. She is also two triples shy of matching the school record for most treys made in a single season with Amanda Peterson (102).

Fellow First Team All-Conference member Deanna Kuzmanic finished the game with 15 points, while pulling down six rebounds and dishing out five assists. Kuzmanic has been the Blazers most prolific player this postseason, leading the team in scoring with 18.0 points per game.

Miyah Barnes was the only other Blazer in double figures, adding 14 points against Rice, while Katelynn Thomas gave UAB a strong seven points and three rebounds off the bench. Sophomore Angela Vendrell had one of the most impressive stat lines on the night, nearly posting a double-double with 12 rebounds and six assists to go along with five points.

Rice (22-9, 10-6) was led by Erica Ogwumike's double-double effort of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Nicole Iademarco also scored 15 points for the Owls in the loss.

Vendrell put the Blazers up 4-0 early by connecting on a layup with 8:27 showing on the clock. The game remained tight for the rest of the opening period, capped off by a Thomas layup that kept the advantage at four points (18-14).

The Blazers got off to a quick start in the second, using a five-point run to go up 23-14. What happened next proved to be the difference in the game as UAB sprinted out to a 14-3 run over the final 7:08 of the half to take a 37-20 lead into the break.

After Childress put home an early layup to give the Blazers a 39-20 advantage, the Owls rattled off five-straight to cut into the deficit. Both offenses held steady until the final seconds of the period when Barnes threw up an acrobatic layup at the horn to put UAB up 46-30.

Things got dicey for the Blazers at the end of the fourth quarter when a 16-point advantage dwindled down to 61-51 with 1:28 to play following six-straight made free throws from Rice. UAB fended off the late comeback attempt well, though, hitting six free throws late of its own to lock up its 67-55 victory and its spot in the final game.

UAB and WKU met only one time this season with the Blazers emerging with a 79-61 victory in Bartow Arena. The Blazer win proved to be crucial to the regular season title race, giving UAB a valuable head-to-head advantage that played a role late in the year.

Fans unable to attend tomorrow's title game in Frisco are invited to the championship game watch party hosted at The Grill at Iron City in Birmingham. Doors for the event open at 4 p.m. and is open to all Blazer fans.

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).