The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Smith Leads UAB Past Arkansas-Pine Bluff Friday
12/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats | Box Score 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Senior Janae Smith scored 25 points to lead the UAB women's basketball team past Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday night. The win kept the Blazers undefeated in Bartow Arena as they opened a four-game home stand.
"I am pleased with our win tonight," head coach Randy Norton said. "I thought Arkansas-Pine Bluff shot the ball well. They were making shots they typically do not make, but give them credit for knocking them down. We saw a lot of positives this past week. Our focus has been ball movement. Our transition was better and we got the ball ahead quicker. I thought we got out and ran, and we had better balance in the half court. I felt like they played with energy and played hard the entire game."
UAB (5-4) continued to play well at home after a month on the road, shooting 40.3 percent from the field on the night and outrebounding Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2-8) 44-25. The Blazers held off the Golden Lions, who shot 48.1 percent from the field, including 60 percent second half.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff scored the first basket of the game, but it wasn't long before the Blazers took control to jump out to a 9-2 lead with seven-straight points from Smith.
The Golden Lions cut the lead down to four, but senior Chelsee Black connected on the first of three 3-pointers to put the Blazers up by nine points. Freshman T'erra Lewis later drained a three to give UAB a double-digit lead, 23-13, with eight minutes remaining in the half.
The Blazers extended their lead to, 27-13, with a 3-pointer from Black at the 6:14 mark. Arkansas-Pine Bluff was able to pull within nine with just over 30 seconds to go, but Black nailed a three and then found junior Dy'man Webb for a layup at the buzzer to give UAB a 38-25 heading into halftime.
Black was the only other Blazer to finish in double figures, with 13 points on the night, and led the team with five assists. Junior Miranda Burroughs added nine points on 3-of-9 from behind the arc in the second half.
UAB kept its momentum early in the second half, opening with a 7-2 run to take a 47-27 lead at the 17:20 mark. Arkansas-Pine Bluff would not go away though, cutting into the Blazers' lead with an 8-0 run to trail, 50-39.
Burroughs would sink a key 3-pointer to push UAB's lead back to 14 with just over seven minutes remaining. Another run brought the Golden Lions within seven points, but UAB found Smith inside for two-straight baskets to make it, 61-50.
Junior Kayla Anderson also helped the Blazers under the basket with two layups in the final two minutes as UAB held on for the 65-56 win.
The Blazers performance on the boards helped lead to 21-second chance points on the night. Smith, Webb and junior Brittany Winborne all finished with six rebounds and 10 players that saw action finished with at least one board.
"We are pleased with this win and it is good to be back at Bartow Arena," Norton stated. "We were on the road for a month. That is a long time to not play any home games. We have a nice stretch coming up at home with South Alabama, Richmond and Middle Tennessee. One of our goals is to protect our home court all season long and to go undefeated at home."
UAB will have a quick turnaround as it hosts South Alabama on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT
For the latest news on Blazer sports, follow the UAB Athletics Twitter account: @UABathletics. For women's basketball news, follow @UAB_WBB.
