BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB women’s basketball team held SMU without a field goal for nearly the final nine minutes Thursday night to defend its home court with a 50-46 win at Bartow Arena.
Senior guard LaShaunda Pratt led the Blazers (18-6, 9-3 C-USA) with 13 points and knocked down some key free throws late, while junior guard Amber Jones added 10 points and provided the dagger with a 3-pointer in the final 15 seconds.
Alisha Filmore scored a game-high 14 points and dished out five assists to lead SMU (12-13, 5-7 C-USA), and Samantha Mahnesmith added 11 points for the Mustangs.
UAB junior guard Khalilah Watson dished out five assists with just one turnover for the Blazers, which moved back into a second-place tie in the Conference USA standings with Memphis thanks to the Tigers’ loss Thursday at Marshall.
Senior center Meagan Brown moved into a second-place tie of her own, matching Mary Morning (1993-97) for the No. 2 spot on the Blazers’ career blocks list. Brown blocked four shots Thursday and now owns 108 for her career, trailing only the 125 of Deanna Jackson (1998-2002).
UAB returns to the court Sunday when it hosts Marshall with a 2 p.m. CT tipoff in the Blazers’ Play 4Kay game for breast cancer awareness. Sunday is also UAB’s Pack the House game in conjunction with the NCAA’s program to increase women’s basketball attendance throughout the country.
The Blazers had the hot shooting touch early in Thursday’s game, knocking down 14 of 24 shots (58.3 percent) in the first half to build a 31-24 lead at the break. Pratt poured in a 3-pointer on the first possession of the second half to extend the UAB lead to 34-24, but then the Blazers went cold.
SMU went on an 11-1 run to tie the game at 35-35, and it was back-and-forth the rest of the way. A lay-in from Akil Simpson with 8:42 toplay gave the Mustangs a 44-40 lead, but that was the last field goal SMU made.
UAB took the lead at 45-44 on a Nakia McDaniel 3-pointer, but SMU quickly snatched it back on a pair of Brittney Hardy free throws at the 5:31 mark. Those proved to be the final points of the night for the Mustangs.
Neither team scored again until Pratt got to the free throw line with 2:35 to play and sank two foul shots to put UAB back on top, 47-46.
More than two more minutes passed before Karisma Chapman drove from the corner and kicked the ball to Jones, who drilled a 3-pointerfrom the wing to extend the Blazers’ margin to four with just 12 seconds left. It was just the Blazers’ fifth field goal of the second half, but that was all they needed.
SMU had two looks from beyond the arc on its final trip down the floor but could not get either one to fall.
Chapman finished her night with four assists to go along with seven points. McDaniel and Michaelea Kleist each added six points for UAB.
SMU became the 17th UAB opponent this season to score fewer than 47 points. The Blazers are now 16-1 in those games.
