UAB Fends Off Late Southern Miss Comeback

Saturday, January 12

Birmingham, Ala.

2 p.m.

UAB

15-2, 3-1

Southern Miss

8-9, 0-4

Southern Miss

UAB

UAB Fends Off Late Southern Miss Comeback

1/12/2019 5:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

BIRMINGHAM – The (RV) UAB women's basketball team held off a second half Southern Miss comeback as the Blazers defeated the Lady Eagles 71-60 at Bartow Arena on Saturday afternoon.

UAB improves to 15-2 on the season and 3-1 in Conference USA, marking the second consecutive season that the Blazers have opened league play with a 3-1 record.

"I am really, really proud of our team and the grittiness they showed," head coach Randy Norton said. "Before the game I challenged them to just give more than we did on Thursday night. I got after our kids pretty hard and they rose to the challenge, it was a great team win."

Miyah Barnes led the Blazers in scoring with a season high 23 points for her fourth career 20+ point game and first of the season. The junior hit a career high six field goals with a career best nine free throws on 14 attempts.

Katelynn Thomas finished the contest with 19 points and a team high seven rebounds. The Birmingham native tallied her 14th double figure scoring game of the season and 23rd of her career.

Rachael Childress rounded out the Blazers in double figures as she netted 11 points, all coming in the first half. The Moulton, Ala., native was 3-of-10 from long range, recording her 12th game this season with three or more 3-pointers.

UAB led Southern Miss in points in the paint (22-to-16) and points off turnovers (17-to-11), but the Lady Eagles' bench outscored the Blazers 27-10.

UAB struggled in the early goings of the contest, shooting just 1-of-4 from the field, while going just 2-for-4 from the free throw line in the first four minutes of the contest and found itself in an early deficit. Barnes gave the Blazers a 7-4 lead at the 6:34 mark of the quarter as she knocked down a triple. Southern Miss responded by hitting the next three baskets to regain a one-point lead but the Blazers tied the game at 11 with 3:52 left and then a pair of made free throws from a final second foul gave UAB a 14-13 lead after one.

Thomas opened the second quarter with a layup, before Childress went on a 6-0 run herself to push UAB's lead to 22-13 with 7:59 to go before the half. The Blazers went on 10-3 run midway through the second quarter as Childress and Trista Magee hit triples on consecutive possessions to stretch UAB's lead to 14, 34-20, with 3:25 to go. Southern Miss answered the 3-pointers with a layin, but the Blazers closed the second quarter on a 5-0 run to lead 38-22 at half.

The teams came out of the locker room and traded buckets through the opening three minutes, before Deanna Kuzmanic and Imani Johnson broke away on a brief 4-0 UAB run to extend its lead to 46-28 with 6:07 to play in the third quarter. Southern Miss began its comeback as Allie Kennedy hit a triple with 4:59 to go in the frame that sparked a 12-3 run as another 3-pointer ended it with 69 seconds to play. The Lady Eagles hit their third trey of the frame as time expired in the third quarter with the Blazers ahead 53-45.

UAB hit the first bucket of the third quarter before Southern Miss would proceed to hit the next four to cut the Blazers' lead to 55-51 with 7:10 remaining. Barnes took over and proceeded to roll off seven unanswered points to stretch UAB's lead back to double digits at 11 points. A pair of Lady Eagle free throws with 2:26 made the contest a seven-point game, but that would be as close as they would get as the Blazers went 7-for-10 at the charity stripe over the final 1:54 to secure the win.

UAB returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 17 when it makes the trip west to UTEP. Tipoff between the Blazers and Miners is set for 8 p.m. CST.

Women's basketball season tickets are on sale by purchasing the 2018-19 Gold Card for $65. The Gold Card includes access to home baseball and softball games in addition to all six 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 like them on Facebook (Facebook.com/UABWBB).