Lady Toppers Fade Away at UAB After Back-and-forth Battle, 79–61
UAB (14–2, 3–0 C-USA) had looked great so far this season, but they proved they are a true contender Saturday night in Birmingham in front…
UAB (14–2, 3–0 C-USA) had looked great so far this season, but they proved they are a true contender Saturday night in Birmingham in front of a sparse crowd of 527. In a back-and-forth affair featuring five ties and nine lead changes, UAB pulled away in a devastating fourth quarter, finishing the Lady Toppers (12–5, 3–1 C-USA) with a 22–7 blitzkrieg in the final frame to win 79–61.
UAB beat the Lady Toppers at their game, shooting a better percentage, outrebounding their opponent, taking care of the basketball, and winning by volume shooting.
UAB got out to a quick start, winning the first quarter 20–15. WKU fought back in the second, eventually taking the lead 41–39 at halftime. WKU battled, hanging with the Blazers through much of the third quarter, but succumbed to the reality of the quality of their play on the night.
With the exception of Ivy Brown and Dee Givens, the Lady Toppers stepped away from their normal patterns. Ivy Brown (25 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks) was her usual self. Dee Givens (14 points, 5 rebounds) continued her recent success, giving the Lady Toppers a chance on a night when other key pieces were not clicking on either side of the ball.
But superstar senior Tashia Brown (13 points, 5 rebounds) was pedestrian, scoring her least amount of points all season, shooting her average percentage.
Besides the three players in double figures, WKU’s seven other players combined for 20% shooting, zero free throw attempts, and nine total points. Raneem Elgedawy struggled, playing her least amount of minutes, only grabbing four rebounds, and not scoring for the first time in her career.
Sherry Porter, Sidnee Bopp, and Kayla Smith also played and did not score. Ivy Brown, who did score 25, was only 1-of-8 from behind the arc.
All around, WKU absolutely struggled from every angle, and UAB stepped up in their biggest game of the year to win going away against the best team in the conference.
News and Notes
Ivy Brown is on a tear. She has scored 22 or more in three straight games and double digits in each of her past 13 games. Ivy has been hanging on the edge of averaging a double-double (16.5 ppg, 9.9 rpg) throughout the year and is currently one rebound short of ten rebounds per contest.
After her first four games, Whitney Creech was averaging 15 ppg. She is now at 8.6 ppg, having not scored double digits in seven straight games, shooting less than 40% in each game since mid-December.
In a night when 3–0 Rice lost to FIU, UAB seized control of Conference USA. UAB is now the lone undefeated team in C-USA, with four teams waiting in the wings with one loss each, including Rice and WKU.