The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
FIU
Blazers Rout FIU, 71-42
3/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Final Box l Season Stats
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB women’s basketball team used a dominant second quarter to dismantle the FIU Panthers, 71-42, at Bartow Arena on Thursday night. The Blazers were led by senior forward Brittany Winborne’s 15th double-double of the season, as she chipped in 11 points while dominating the glass with 17 boards. Senior guard Chelsee Black paced the UAB offense with a game-best 18 points.
“I’m very pleased with tonight’s win,” head coach Randy Norton said. “We’ve had some tough losses this year and as I told the girls it’s not how you start it’s how you finish and we want to be playing the best basketball come March. So we’re really excited to get this first win here.
Black’s 18 points enabled her to take sole possession of 17th place on UAB’s all-time scoring list with 1,316 career points. Tonight marked the Bessemer, Alabama, native’s 67th time scoring in double figures. Meanwhile, Winborne revamped the Blazers’ record books as her 17 rebounds earned her 308 rebounds this season, the seventh-most in UAB’s single-season history.
UAB (14-14, 7-10) halted a three-game skid as it used a complete team effort to defeat FIU by 29 points, its largest margin in C-USA play.
After opening the first 10 minutes neck in neck with the Panthers, the Blazers outscored FIU, 18-7, in the second period and never looked back. UAB opened the second quarter with a 10-2 run to open a 23-14 lead with five minutes to play. The Blazers extended their lead with another 8-2 run to close out the half as it led, 31-19.
UAB refused to let FIU back into the game as it came out of the break firing on all cylinders. After the pair traded buckets, the Blazers used a 14-0 run to extend their lead to 46-21 with 4:48 to go in the third quarter.
UAB continued to build on its lead as it led by as many as 34 points in the fourth, improving to 7-10 in league play.
Ten Blazers scored in the dominating victory. Janeka Williams dropped 8 points, her highest output of the season, while Bianca Dufelmeier and Kayla Anderson added 7 points apiece. Keonna Farmer secured seven rebounds, narrowly missing a career-high set against FIU in Miami.
UAB outscored FIU, 32-14, in the paint, and the bench contributed with 24 points to the Panthers’ zero.
On the night, UAB shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64), while holding FIU to 30.4 percent (17-of-56). At the line, the Blazers converted 14-of-16 attempts (87.5 percent).
FIU was led by a trio of Panthers who scored in double figures. Tianah Alvarado led FIU with 15 points, while Nikolina Todorovic dropped 11 points shooting 4-of-9 from the field. Birmingham native Kristian Hudson added 10 for the Panthers.
"“We’ve got one more to go senior day to celebrate our seniors on Saturday," Norton added. "I anticipate our girls are going to be ready to play. We came out with a lot of energy tonight.”
UAB wraps up its regular season Saturday as it hosts Florida Atlantic. The Blazers will honor their six seniors following the contest. Tip is set for 2 p.m.
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