Late Comeback Falls Short, Oklahoma Defeats UAB in Norman

Sunday, November 10

Norman, Okla.

2:00 p.m.

UAB

-11,00 CUSA

Oklahoma

2-0,0-0Big 12

UAB

Oklahoma

Photo by: Ty Russell

Late Comeback Falls Short, Oklahoma Defeats UAB in Norman

11/10/2019 6:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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NORMAN, Okla.- UAB's fourth quarter comeback came up short as the Blazers fell to Oklahoma 82-75 in the second round of the preseason WNIT on Sunday afternoon.

Miyah Barnes scored a career high 25 points and Trista Magee added 14 points of her own, 11 coming in the fourth quarter.

Both teams got off to a slow start in the first quarter but a few fouls by UAB gave Oklahoma the early lead, which they would not surrender the rest of the game.

UAB (1-1) shot 21.1 percent from the field and went 0-5 from the three-point line in the first quarter of play.

The Blazers picked up the pace in the second quarter shooting 57.1 percent from the field as Barnes started heating up with nine first half points.

The Sooners would go into the half with the 41-32 lead off 18 points and seven rebounds from Madi Williams.

Oklahoma (2-0) opened the third quarter of action on a 10-1 run to increase its lead to 18 points. The Sooners shot 52.9 percent from the field in the quarter while UAB only managed to shoot 29.4 percent.

Barnes hit back-to-back three-pointers in the last minute of action in the third quarter, but Oklahoma answered with a three of their own to take a 15-point lead into the final quarter of play, 66-51.

Magee started the fourth quarter on a mission scoring the first eight points for either side leading to an Oklahoma timeout just two minutes into the play.

At the 5:45 mark Magee knocked down her third three of the quarter and immediately drew a charge at the other end of the floor, energizing the UAB bench.

A layup from Barnes with 4:31 left in the game would cut the Oklahoma lead down to five, 69-64.

With 28 seconds remaining in the game and Oklahoma leading by eight, Imani Johnson was fouled driving in for a layup. The basket counted and Johnson's free throw went in narrowing the Sooners lead to 78-73.

Oklahoma would knock down four more free throws in the closing seconds of the game and hold on to an 82-75 victory.

"We learned a lot about our team in this game," said head coach Randy Norton. "We have a lot of things to work on, but there were also several positives to take from the game. We never gave up and I am proud of the fight we showed late in the game."

The Blazers trailed by as much as 18 points in the second half before exploding in the fourth quarter outscoring the Sooners 24-16 in the final 10 minutes of the game.

UAB was paced by Barnes 25 points and five assists. Angela Vendrell grabbed 12 boards for UAB all coming on the defensive end.

Oklahoma scored 22 points off 16 UAB turnovers and 25 fast break points on the afternoon.

The Blazers await the results of the remaining WNIT second round games to determine who they will play in the consolation round.

Secure your women's basketball season tickets by purchasing the 2019-20 Gold Card for $65 here. The Gold Card is an exclusive offer that grants you admission into all women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, baseball and softball events for the upcoming academic year. Contact the UAB Ticket Office at (205) 975-UAB1 for more details.

For more information on the UAB women's basketball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_WBB) and Instagram (UAB_WBBall).