BIRMINGHAM – The UAB women’s basketball team used its momentum from Thursday night’s thriller to take down Southern Miss 90-46 on Senior Day in Bartow Arena. The win was the 20th of the season for the Blazers, marking the first time in program history UAB women’s basketball has had three 20-win seasons in a row.
Trista Magee led all Blazers, scoring a career high 18 points with three rebounds and three assists. Rachael Childress added 14 points, going 4-for-6 from behind the arc including hitting her 415th career three, moving her into a tie for fifth in NCAA history. Zakyia Weathersby and Margaret Whitley each recorded double-digits with 11 and 10 points off the bench for the Blazers.
UAB (20-10, 12-6 C-USA) dominated from the beginning going on a 14-2 run at the end of the first quarter. Childress started the run with her first three of the day before Magee hit back-to-back shots with a jumper and a triple. Miyah Barnes added a jumper of her own and Weathersby scored the last four points for UAB to take the 21-8 lead after one.
Southern Miss (15-14, 7-11 C-USA) opened the second quarter with a bucket but Imani Johnson responded with the next four points for UAB. Childress knocked down two more threes and Magee added a triple of her own to put the Blazers up 42-22 at halftime.
Magee picked up where she left off in the third quarter scoring the first five points for the Green and Gold. The Blazers hit four triples in four consecutive possessions with two from Magee and one each from Angela Vendrell and Childress. Whitley joined in with a triple of her own as UAB went 5-of-9 from three in the third quarter.
Sam Mitchell opened the fourth quarter with a three to record her first points of the contest. The seniors were subbed out for one last ovation early in the fourth, as head coach Randy Norton pulled each aside for a moment to talk before, they exited the court. Jasmine Gracie and Audrey Jordan entered the game and made an immediate impact for UAB. Gracie scored seven consecutive points for the Blazers with a pair of jump shots and a three. Jordan grabbed two rebounds, dished out one assist, and scored the final two points for the Blazers to seal the largest margin of victory over the Golden Eagles in program history, 90-46.
“I am so proud of this teams focus and attention to detail today,” said Norton. “Everyone was ready to go and each person did their job to provide our team with the win.”
The Blazers dominated on all sides of the ball shooting 59.0 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from three with 14 triples. The Green and Gold out rebounded USM 41-29 on the afternoon led by Weathersby with seven boards. UAB dished out 22 assists and had 28 points in the paint. The UAB bench scored 34 points on the afternoon.
UAB will head into the conference tournament as one of six teams with 10 or more conference wins. The Blazers have locked up the fifth seed in the tournament with their opponent to be determined later tonight.
# UAB #
