Southern Miss Defeats UAB, 68-51
2/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Southern Miss Defeats UAB, 68-51
Allison Story added 16 points for the Lady Eagles. Natasha Thomas led UAB (8-14, 4-5) with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Michelle Smith had scored 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.
"I'm really proud of these kids," Head Coach Rick Reeves said. "We are battling some injuries and a little bit of illness right now. I thought all the kids played well. We only had five turnovers in the first half. I thought Alex Webster gave us a lift and Anna Udicova played a strong defensive game tonight."
Both teams traded baskets through the first 6:24 of the game. UAB led 12-9, before Southern Miss (12-10, 5-4) scored seven unanswered points, taking a 16-13 lead at the 12:03 mark. That was a lead the Lady Eagles would never relinquish. Southern Miss led by as many as nine in the half, 30-22. Southern Miss led 36-28 at the half behind Sumerall's 14 points. The Lady Eagles took advantage 10 Lady Blazer turnovers, scoring 11 points off the UAB miscues. Southern Miss finished the half shooting 46.7 percent, including 50 percent from three-point range and had only five turnovers.
"We tried to take their (UAB) post game away," Reeves said. "UAB is averaging about 67 points, but they are 2-13 if you hold them below 60 points. Our goal, defensively, was to keep the score down."
Southern Miss began the second half, going 5:49 before scoring its first basket of the half on Story three-pointer. The Lady Eagles built a 13-point lead, 46-33, midway through the half. After leading 52-39 with just over seven minutes remaining, UAB made its last run, scoring six answered points to cut the lead to seven, 52-45. The Lady Eagles closed out the remainder of the half with a 16-6 run.
Southern Miss finished the game with only 11 turnovers. UAB won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Lady Eagles 36-30. Southern Miss held UAB to 29.2 percent shooting in the second, after finishing the first half shooting 57.1 percent from the field.
Southern Miss continues its road swing, traveling to South Florida for a noon tipoff. The game will be televised as part of the Conference USA women's TV package and will be televised locally on Comcast Cable live.