UAB women’s basketball took another heartbreaking loss to Middle Tennessee 81-78 in overtime. Even in the loss, UAB freshman guard Lindsey Dullard had a career day.
The Blue Raiders got off to a hot start early scoring the first nine. The first quarter was an impressive display of three-pointing shooting with the two teams combining for 11 three-pointers and only two two-point field goals.
The Blue Raiders pushed their lead up to as much as 14 in the first quarter before the Blazers started coming back. UAB picked up momentum heading into halftime.
Coming out of the half, the Blazers stormed the third quarter to take their first lead. They stretched that lead out to as much as seven in the fourth quarter before Middle Tennessee crawled back. The two teams traded leads the rest of the game.
Zakyia Weathersby made a layup with just over a minute in regulation to tie the game up. With both teams missing shots in the final minute, the game went into overtime. In a tight overtime period, both teams saw leads before the final minute.
In a pivotal moment, Alexis Whittington rebounded a missed shot that had connected with the rim as the shot clock expired and scored to put Middle Tennessee up with only eight seconds remaining.
“We knew that we could’ve and should’ve won that game,” Dullard said. “We kinda defeated ourselves towards the end.”
Four UAB players scored in double digits –Weathersby, Dullard, Sam Mitchell and Margaret Whitley. Dullard, in her first career start, had a double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds. Weathersby had her sixth straight game with a double-double with 23 points and 20 rebounds. Sam Mitchell had a day herself, scoring a career-high 18 points, all from three.
Middle Tennessee was led by Anastasia Hayes who scored 42 points, a season-high in Conference USA this year. Along with her sister Aislynn, the two combined for 58 of Middle Tennessee 81 points.
The Blazers were physical, outrebounding Middle Tennessee 56-45.
“We all knew we had to crash the boards because we knew Middle Tennessee’s a good rebounding team,” Dullard said.
Foul shots were a big boost to this Blue Raider team as they made 18 from the free throw line, eight more than UAB shot total.
UAB will return to play against Middle Tennessee Saturday in Murfreesboro. The game is set to tip at 4 p.m. and will be stream on ESPN+.
