BIRMINGHAM – Emily Klaczek recorded a career-high 26 points in UAB’s 86-70 victory over WKU on Thursday night. The victory was the Lady Toppers’ first loss in Conference USA this season and ended their nine-game winning streak.
Klaczek was 9-of-15 shooting, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Zakyia Weathersby recorded her 13th double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Destinee McGhee scored 13 points and pulled down eight rebounds off the bench. Kylee Schneringer tied her career-high with 12 points. Margaret Whitley added 10 points and tied her career-high with eight rebounds for the Blazers (11-6, 4-2 C-USA).
Conference USA’s leading scorer Meral Abdelgawad scored a game-high 28 points and Alexis Mead had 13 for WKU (14-5, 7-1 C-USA).
An 10-2 run midway through the 1st quarter put the Lady Toppers ahead 18-11, giving them their largest lead of the game at seven points. The Blazers finished the quarter by scoring the final five points to cut the deficit to 18-16.
The 2nd quarter belonged to Klaczek. She scored 13 of UAB’s first 15 points in a span of 3:26. Her free throws at 6:34 gave the Blazers their first double-figure lead of the game, 31-21. In total, Klaczek scored 16 points in the quarter, going 5-for-5 from the field, 4-of-4 from 3-point range and a pair of foul shots. UAB would take a 40-31 advantage into halftime.
Klaczek opened up the 3rd quarter with a 3-pointer before Abdelgawad would finish back-to-back and-1s, making the score 43-37 at the 7:01 mark. The Lady Toppers would make it a two-possession game at 3:24 on Abdelgawad’s layup. However, the Blazers would score the next eight points and take a 64-52 lead into the final stanza.
UAB started the 4th quarter on a 10-4 run to giving them the largest lead of the game at 18 points, capped by McGhee’s 3-pointer that made the score 74-56.
UAB shot 48% from the field and 40% from behind-the-arc. They outrebounded WKU 50-35 and had 38 points in the paint to the Lady Toppers’ 30. Whitley had five of the Blazers’ 19 assists.
“We kept our poise throughout the game, Western Kentucky made some runs at as, but our kids never wavered,” said head coach Randy Norton. “One player after another stepped up and together, they got it done.”
The Blazers remain in Birmingham to face Marshall on Jan. 29. The Thundering Herd (11-6, 6-2 C-USA) fell to Middle Tennessee 80-41 in Murfreesboro earlier tonight.
GAME NOTES
- Klaczek’s previous career-high was 18 points in the season opener against Shorter
- Weathersby recorded her 28th double-double and 42nd double-figure scoring game
- WKU’s last loss was Dec. 5 against Tennessee Tech
- This is the fourth time UAB has scored 80+ points this season (Chicago State, Arkansas Pine Bluff, Florida Atlantic, WKU)
GOLD CARD
Women’s Basketball season tickets are on sale by purchasing the 2021-22 Gold Card for $65 here. The 2021-22 Gold Card will get you access to all home events for Women’s Soccer, Men’s Soccer, Volleyball, Women’s Basketball, Softball, and Baseball (Regions Field & Young Memorial). This card is not valid for Conference USA or NCAA Championship events.
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS
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UAB BASKETBALL AT BARTOW ARENA
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