HATTIESBURG, Miss. – UAB recorded just its sixth win in Hattiesburg Thursday night after defeating Southern Miss 74-68.
Miyah Barnes paced the Blazers with 20 points, six rebounds and four assists. Rachael Childress scored 15, with four triples, and five rebounds. Zakyia Weathersby added 14 points going 5-6 from the field and 4-4 from the charity stripe.
UAB (12-7, 4-3 C-USA) jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter going on a 6-2 run off two baskets from Imani Johnson and a layup from Barnes. The Blazers were an uncharacteristic 0-5 from three-point range in the quarter but held the 16-11 lead after 10 minutes of play.
Southern Miss (11-6, 3-3 C-USA) scored two quick buckets to open the second quarter before Trista Magee responded with a triple. Barnes scored the next five points for the Blazers with a jumper and a step back three. The Blazers scored seven straight points to increase the lead to 11 with a minute left in the half. The Golden Eagles answered with two quick baskets, but it was UAB who took the 33-26 lead into the locker room.
The tempo picked up in the third quarter with both teams trading blows in the first four minutes. Childress started heating up hitting back to back three-pointers before USM answered with five points. UAB went on a 9-0 run in the middle of the third quarter to take a 12-point lead capped off by Childress’ third three of the night. The Golden Eagles closed the third quarter with four straight points to cut the Blazer lead to nine going into the final quarter of play.
USM scored the first six points in the fourth quarter before UAB went on a 10-0 run with two buckets from Weathersby, Childress’ fourth triple of the night and five points from Barnes with 3:24 remaining in the game. Southern Miss made three triples in the last minute of the game including a four-point play but UAB came up clutch with 11 made free throws in the final 80 seconds of regulation to hang on for the six-point win.
“This was a great win for our team, and I am so happy for the girls,” said head coach Randy Norton. They were gritty through 40 minutes and everyone made winning plays for us tonight.”
In her return to Hattiesburg, Magee finished the night with eight points and led the team with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. The Blazers shot 81.5 percent from the charity stripe with 22 points off free throws.
Shonte Hailes led Southern Miss with 22 points, six rebounds and three assists. Alarie Mayze added 19 points and Respect Leaphart had 14 but the USM bench was held to only four points.
UAB travels to Louisiana Tech Saturday to face the Lady Techsters at 2 p.m. in Ruston, La.
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.
For more information on the UAB women’s basketball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_WBB) and Instagram (UAB_WBBall).
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