University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Lady Eagles Lose Thriller At UAB, 71-70
2/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Files associated with this release:
Complete Game Statistics
Lady Eagles Lose Thriller At UAB, 71-70
Birmingham, Ala. - Southern Miss' basketball Lady Eagles' road troubles continued here today when UAB scored late to post a 71-70 Conference USA victory over the visiting Eagles.
The loss dropped Southern Miss to 14-12 overall and 2-11 in C-USA, while UAB improved to 9-17 overall and 3-10 in the league. Southern Miss has just one game remaining, Feb. 27 at Tulane, and the winner of that game will advance to the C-USA tournament, while the loser's season comes to an end.
Needing a victory to move closer to a tournament berth, Head Coach Rick Reeves and his Lady Eagles quickly jumped out to a 9-2 lead and led by as many as nine points, 30-21 at the 5:54 mark in the first half, only to see UAB outscore Southern Miss 18-10 to close the half and use a late three-pointer to cut the margin to just a point, 40-39, at the half.
Both teams shot the ball well in the first half, UAB making 15-of-28 shots (.536) and Southern Miss an even better 15-of-26 (.577). The Lady Eagles also hit 5-of-5 free throws, 5-of-6 from three-point range and led 16-9 in total rebounds, and still led by just a point.
Southern Miss led almost the entire second half as well, by margins ranging from one to nine points. That nine-point cushion came at the 15:22 mark, following a Deondra Carter three-point basket that pushed the Lady Eagles ahead 55-46. But, UAB started to cut into that margin, but did not lead in the second half until Domaneice Moore hit a layup with 10-seconds left to push the Lady Blazers into the lead, 71-70.
Southern Miss got off a three-pointer as time ran out, but it was wide.
UAB put three players in double figures, led by Natasha Thomas' 17 points. Southern Miss had a trio of players in double digits, with Carter leading the way with a game-high 22 points. Lana Lewis added 17 points, on 7-of-9 shooting that included a perfect 3-of-3 from three-point range.
Southern Miss finished the game at .491 (25-53), and won the rebounding battle, 29-28, behind Carter's eight rebounds.
Southern Miss now has most of the coming week to get ready for the crucial game at Tulane, the same Tulane team the Lady Eagles beat 68-51 in Hattiesburg on Jan. 10. The winner advances to the Mar. 4-7 C-USA Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas.
