Quartet of Blazers Leads UAB Over Florida Atlantic

Thursday, January 3

Boca Raton, Fla.

6 p.m.

UAB

-131, 10 CUSA

Florida Atlantic

-311, 01 CUSA

UAB

FAU

Quartet of Blazers Leads UAB Over Florida Atlantic

1/3/2019 8:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – A quartet of Blazers in double figures lifted the (RV) UAB women's basketball team to an 89-64 victory over Florida Atlantic on the opening night of Conference USA play on Thursday night at Bartow Arena.

UAB improved to 13-1 on the season, its best start in school history, while having won 11 consecutive C-USA games on the road dating back to the 2016-17 season.

"It was what we anticipated," head coach Randy Norton said. "Florida Atlantic's record is very deceiving, they played us hard and they are a well-coached basketball team. We told our kids if we keep doing what we do with our transition our goal was to wear them down. Offensively we did a great job with our motion offense and our kids did a good job of countering what Florida Atlantic threw at us. Our bench play was outstanding so all-in-all it was a good team win."

Katelynn Thomas headlined the quartet with a career high 23 points on a 10-of-14 night from the field. The 23 points marked the second 20+ point game this season for the Birmingham native.

Rachael Childress followed Thomas' with 17 points, including four made 3-pointers. Childress tallied her 10th double figure scoring game of the season and 54th of her career.

Deanna Kuzmanic and Miyah Barnes rounded out the Blazers in double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Kuzmanic added six rebounds and six assists, while Barnes also dished out six assists.

UAB shot 48.6 percent (35-of-72) from the field, while holding Florida Atlantic to just 34.3 percent (23-of-67). Additionally, the Blazers outscored the Owls 44-22 in the paint and tallied 22 bench points to their 20.

Consecutive layups on the first possessions of the game started the UAB offense's hot night. The points continued to roll in as Kuzmanic hit a 3-pointer at the 7:47 mark to give the Blazers a 9-3 cushion. UAB went on a 13-2 run midway through the first half, stretching its lead to as high as 18 as it ultimately led 28-12 after the first 10 minutes of the game.

Florida Atlantic battled back in the opening minutes of the second half as it hit a 3-pointer with 6:45 left in the half to cut UAB's lead to 12, 30-18, and forced the Blazers to use their first timeout of the game. Another layin from Thomas with 4:10 left gave UAB back a 14-point lead before the Owls would cut it to 11 in the final minutes of the half, but the Blazers took a 42-31 lead into the locker room at half.

UAB rattled off the first eight points of the second half before Florida Atlantic netted its first bucket two minutes into the third quarter. A free throw from Trista Magee at the 5:35 mark gave the Blazers their largest lead of the quarter at 27, 62-35. The Owls closed the frame, cutting the Blazers lead back to 22, but UAB led 67-45 at the end of the quarter. The offensive showcase continued into the fourth quarter as UAB amassed a 76-56 lead at the final media break of the game. The Owls hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds but they were not enough as UAB cruised to the 89-64 victory.

UAB wraps up the opening weekend of league play when it travels to Miami on Saturday to face FIU. Tipoff between the Blazers and Panthers is slated for 1 p.m. CST from FIU Arena.

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 nine 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).