UAB Earns Win No. 20 With 77-59 Victory Over Marshall

Thursday, February 14

Birmingham, Ala.

6 p.m.

UAB

-205, 84 CUSA

Marshall

-1411, 84 CUSA

Marshall

UAB

UAB Earns Win No. 20 With 77-59 Victory Over Marshall

2/14/2019 9:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score

BIRMINGHAM – A 19 point performance from Rachael Childress and 20 point night from Deanna Kuzmanic lifted the UAB women's basketball team to its 20th win of the season as the Blazers downed Marshall 77-59 at Bartow Arena on Thursday night.

UAB (20-5, 8-4 C-USA) tallied its 10th 20+ win season in program history, while accomplishing the task in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1999-00, 2000-01.

"I was really, really pleased with our team's effort tonight," head coach Randy Norton said. "We challenged them before the game to remember who they are and they are the defending conference champions from last season. It was not perfect, but for 40 minutes they tried to be assignment correct on defense, played hard, the effort was there, they were passionate and so it was a really good win against an excellent Marshall team."

Kuzmanic turned in her third 20+ point performance of the season on a season high three 3-pointers. The senior added nine rebounds, six assists and one steal.

Childress' 19 points came off a 7-for-10 night from the field on five made 3-pointers. One of the nation's best from beyond the arc, the Moulton, Ala., native turned in her ninth game with at least five made triples.

Angela Vendrell recorded her first career double-double, tallying a career high 13 rebounds and a career best 11 assists. The junior is the third Blazer to have a double-double this season and first since Kuzmanic and Katelynn Thomas recorded ones against McNeese State on Dec. 8.

Imani Johnson remained hot offensively, finishing with 17 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists. Johnson has seven double digit scoring performances this season and four in her last six contests.

Thomas rounded out the Green and Gold to finish in the double digit scoring column, as the Birmingham native registered 14 points on seven made field goals.

UAB jumped out to an 8-2 run to begin the game as a Johnson layin with 4:51 to play in the first quarter took the game to its first media break. Marshall responded out of the break with a 7-1 run, taking its first lead of the game with 2:38 left in the opening frame. A Thomas layin gave UAB back the lead before Childress put the exclamation point on the period to give the Blazers an 18-13 lead after one.

Marshall (14-11, 8-4 C-USA) opened the second quarter, rattling off three straight triples on three consecutive possessions to tie the game at 21 with 8:14 to play in the half. A jumper gave the Thundering Herd back the lead before another triple stretched their lead to five, 26-21. Childress connected on a 3-pointer with 4:18 to play in the second quarter, sparking a 15-3 UAB run to close the half giving the Blazers a 38-33 lead to take into the locker room.

UAB opened the second half connecting on four of the first six shots as a Kuzmanic 3-pointer gave the Blazers a nine point lead. The Thundering Herd answered, going on a 10-1 run midway through the frame, tying the game at 47 with 2:35 left. The teams traded buckets to close the quarter, but a Childress jumper with 20 seconds left gave UAB the 52-51 advantage to take into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter was all UAB, opening the period on a 12-6 run with a Kuzmanic 3-pointer stretching the lead to 64-54 with 4:38 to play. The Blazers held the Thundering Herd scoreless over the final 2:54, hitting the game's four shots to earn the 18-point victory.

Princess Clemons led a trio of Thundering Herd, finishing with 14 points and six rebounds.

UAB continues its homestand on Saturday, Feb. 16 when it welcomes WKU for a rematch of last season's Conference USA Title game. Tip between the Blazers and Lady Toppers is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

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 women's basketball's three remaining home contests. Contact the UAB Ticket Office, (205) 975-UAB1, ffor 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).