BIRMINGHAM – Junior Zakyia Weathersby recorded her first career double-double with a career high 30 points and 12 rebounds as the Blazers defeated Tuskegee 103-60 in the final nonconference game of the season.
Weathersby’s 30 points and 12 rebounds shattered her previous career high marks as she went 10-12 from the field and 10-12 from the free throw line. The Mississippi native also added three blocks, two assists and one steal in 25 minutes of play.
UAB (8-4) got off to a quick start scoring the first seven points of the game before the Tigers responded with a three pointer. Eight different Blazers got on the board in the first quarter while holding Tuskegee to 9.1 percent shooting to put the Green and Gold up 28-8 after 10 minutes of play.
Tuskegee (7-6) opened the second quarter with a 7-3 run that was ended by a basket from Weathersby. The Tigers put up 20 points in the second quarter, but the Blazers would go into halftime with a 50-28 lead off 14 points from Weathersby and 11 from Rachael Childress.
Childress began heating up from the three-point line in the second half hitting back-to-back threes at the beginning of the third quarter. With 3:45 remaining in the quarter Weathersby collected her 10th rebound to record her first career double-double. The Blazers would head into the final quarter of play up 77-47.
The fourth quarter began similar to the third with back-to-back threes by Childress who finished with seven triples on the afternoon. A pair of baskets from Katelynn Thomas, a three from Miyah Barnes and a jumper from Trista Magee led the Blazers on a 15-0 run to put the Blazers up 40, 92-52. Margaret Whitley increased the Blazer lead to 43 after driving the lane for the score and knocking down the and one. Weathersby capped off her 30-piece with a spin move and the layup with 22 seconds remaining in the game to give the Blazers the 103-60 win.
“I feel like our nonconference schedule has really prepared us for the conference season,” said head coach Randy Norton. “It has been an interesting nonconference as we have had a lot of players banged up. We only had 10 players in uniform tonight, but it has given a lot of players an opportunity to show what they can do. Zakyia had an amazing game, she has really been playing well as of late. This was a nice tune up game coming off of Christmas break after giving the girls four days off, so this served to help get us back in ready for conference play.”
UAB recorded its best offensive performance of the season breaking the 100-point mark as all 10 Blazers recorded points with Weathersby (30), Childress (25), Whitley (13) and Thomas (11) each recording double figures. Childress continued her red-hot shooting streak going 72.7 percent from the field and 70.0 percent from beyond the arc. UAB dished out 25 assists as a team with five different Blazers recording three or more assists paced by Angela Vendrell’s five.
Tuskegee was led by Ashiala Jackson’s 16 points and five rebounds. The Tigers were held to 31.4 percent shooting from the field and 15.0 percent from the three-point line.
The Blazers will open Conference USA play at home against Charlotte on Thursday at 6 p.m.
Secure your women’s basketball season tickets by purchasing the 2019-20 Gold Card for $65 here. The Gold Card is an exclusive offer that grants you admission into all women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, baseball and softball events for the upcoming academic year. Contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 for more details.
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