Lady Techsters Edge Blazers at Bartow Arena

Thursday, January 10

Birmingham, Ala.

6 p.m.

UAB

14-2, 2-1

Louisiana Tech

9-7, 1-2

Louisiana Tech

UAB

Lady Techsters Edge Blazers at Bartow Arena

1/10/2019 9:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

BIRMINGHAM – A 35-point performance from the nation's fourth leading scorer in Kierra Anthony guided Louisiana Tech to a 73-68 victory over the (RV) UAB women's basketball team on Thursday night at Bartow Arena.

Louisiana Tech (9-7, 1-2 C-USA) handed UAB just its second loss of the season, snapping the Blazers 10 game winning streak, their longest since the 1993-94 season.

"Congratulations to Louisiana Tech," head coach Randy Norton said. "I thought they came in here and played extremely well. I felt like they played harder than us and their effort was better than ours. The biggest correction from tonight is that we need to give a full 40-minute effort, it was there at times but then we let up and could not sustain it. At the end of the day it is on me and I need to do a better job of holding them accountable and putting them in positions to be successful. "

Rachael Childress led UAB offensively for the second consecutive game with 23 points, matching her career high 3-point field goals made with seven. The junior tallied her 56th career double figure scoring game and has found double digits in the last six games, including 20 or more in the last two.

Katelynn Thomas finished the game with 19 points and seven rebounds. One of the nation's top shooters, the Birmingham native finished the game 8-of-12 from the field and also added three rebounds.

Miyah Barnes rounded out the Blazers in double figures as she finished with 10 points. Barnes has finished in double figures nine times this season and in three of the last four contests.

Angela Vendrell paced the Blazers on the glass, reeling in a season high eight rebounds. She also added four points, five assists, four blocks and a pair of steals.

UAB (14-2, 2-1) outscored Louisiana Tech 32-28 in the paint, but was outmatched in every other offensive category, including points off turnovers (12-to-6), second chance points (13-to-4), fast break points (12-to-7) and bench points (29-to-4).

Thomas gave UAB its first points of the game as she drove the lane to get the bucket and added the free throw on the foul. Louisiana Tech countered and took its first lead of the game just two minutes in. The teams matched each other shot-for-shot through the end of the first quarter, but another Thomas bucket with 1:11 to play in the frame gave the Blazers a 14-13 lead at the end of the opening quarter.

UAB opened the second quarter on a 4-0 run, forcing Louisiana Tech to call a timeout with 8:20 left in the half. The Lady Techsters came out of the break and cut the Blazers lead to one, but four made 3-pointers from the Blazers over the following three minutes pushed UAB's lead to 28-23 with 4:37 to go in the quarter. A triple from the Lady Techsters with 3:07 left gave the contest its first tie at 28 all. Childress closed the half with her third 3-pointer of the quarter to give UAB a 33-32 lead to take into the locker room at the break.

Both teams opened the second half scoreless until Anthony hit a field goal two minutes in to break the drought and give Louisiana Tech back the lead. Another jumper from Anthony extended the Lady Techsters' lead to three, before Childress proceeded to hit another triple to tie the game at 36 with 7:36 left in the frame. UAB and Louisiana Tech matched each other's shot over the next six minutes as the game saw six ties in the third quarter. A pair of free throws from Barnes with two seconds left gave the Blazers a 50-48 lead to take into the fourth quarter.

Childress' lone non 3-point bucket opened the scoring for the Green and Gold in the fourth quarter that sparked a 14-7 UAB run capped off by another triple from Childress to give the Blazers a 64-55 lead with 4:51 to play. Consecutive 3-pointers from the Lady Techsters' with two minutes to play cut the Blazers' lead to one with 1:55 to play, before Anthony hit a jumper with 1:24 left to give Louisiana Tech a 69-68 lead and one it would not relinquish. Louisiana Tech hit four free throws in the final seconds to secure the victory.

UAB returns to action on Saturday afternoon when it closes its brief homestand with Southern Miss. Tipoff between the Blazers and Lady Eagles is set for 2 p.m. from Bartow Arena.

Saturday is Family Day at Bartow Arena. Fans are encouraged to attend a pregame carnival on the Bartow Arena concourse beginning at 1 p.m.

Women's basketball season tickets are on sale by purchasing a Gold Card for $65. The Gold Card includes access to home baseball and softball games in addition to all seven 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 like them on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABWBB).