UAB WBB Gets Back on the Winning Track After 61-52 Victory Over North Texas

Thursday, February 9

Birmingham, Ala.

11:00 AM

UAB

North Texas

UAB

UAB WBB Gets Back on the Winning Track After 61-52 Victory Over North Texas

2/9/2023 2:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM – UAB ended its four-game slide on Thursday afternoon after defeating North Texas 61-52 on Education Day at Bartow Arena.

Over 2,000 children representing 20+ local schools packed the arena to see Denim DeShields score a game-high 24 points with six assists and Destinee McGhee 16 points. Maddie Walsh added 10 points and Emily Klaczek grabbed eight career-high eight rebounds off the bench for the Blazers (11-12, 3-11 C-USA).

Ereauna Hardaway led the Mean Green (9-14, 6-7 C-USA) with 15 points. The Blazer defense held UNT's leading scorer Quincy Noble (17.3 ppg) to eight points on 3-for-9 shooting.

The first half was played tight, with the largest lead being six points after a Mean Green 9-0 run midway through the 1^st quarter. Five ties and seven lead changes later, the contest went into halftime tied at 28-28.

Down 37-32 with 5:44 to play in the 3^rd quarter, the Blazers responded with a 14-3 run to take a 46-40 lead heading into the final stanza.

A DeShields layup followed by a Walsh basket gave UAB its first double-digit lead of the game at 50-40. The Blazers were able to keep the Mean Green at arm's length the rest of the contest, maintaining at least a seven-point cushion the rest of the game.

"The team has stuck together through all the adversity, injuries and losing close games. The showed so much resilience today," said head coach Randy Norton. "Destinee McGhee got us off to a great start, I thought she was dominant inside. "Denim DeShields' decision making was probably the best that I've seen for a 40-minute game."

UAB dominated in the paint, outscoring North Texas 34-20 and outrebounded them 44-39. The Blazer defense held the Mean Green to 17 field goals (29.8 % shooting) and the 52 points was its fourth-best defensive effort this season.

Up next, UAB travels to Middle Tennessee tomorrow for a Saturday evening matchup. Tip time is 5 p.m. The Blazers return home next week for a pair of game against UTEP on Feb. 16 and UTSA on Feb. 18.

NOTES

McGhee has averaged 15.3 points in just 16 minutes per game over the last three contests
Margaret Whitley broke the program record with her 134th game played
The Blazer defense held UNT to 12 points under their season average
This was the fifth time this season UAB has held an opponent under 30% shooting
This is the first season sweep over UNT since 2018

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