In a back-and-forth game that saw Zakyia Weathersby record her 20th double-double of the season, UAB (15-13, 8-9) failed to find a rhythm on offense and fell to Southern Miss (17-10, 9-7), 57-67.
The Blazers opened the game with baskets by Maria Roters and Margaret Whitley but were quickly matched with big shots from USM’s Daishai Almond and Domonique Davis.
Almond, who averages just over seven points per game, led the Lady Eagles with a career high 25. Davis and Almond contributed 40 of the Golden Eagles’ 67 points.
UAB struggled to string together stops on the defensive end in the first half. The Lady Eagles seemed to have an answer every time the Blazers made a shot. With seven minutes left in the first half, UAB lost their lead and would never get it back.
Southern Miss held UAB to just 11-31 shooting in the opening half, well below their season average of 42 percent.
Perhaps the biggest difference in the first half was the free throw shooting between the two teams. Southern Miss went 12-13 from the line while UAB went just five of seven.
Despite their struggles on the offensive end and at the charity stripe, the Blazers were able to make it a five-point game going into the locker room.
Coming into the second half, UAB looked more energetic on both ends of the floor. The Blazers would go on a 7-2 run in the first four minutes of the third quarter to tie the game at 37.
Yet again, Almond responded with two straight buckets to extinguish the run by the Blazers.
The rest of the second half saw more of the same for UAB, as they would make runs to keep the game close but would struggle to keep Davis and Almond from scoring.
With a chance to tie or take the lead with just under five minutes left in the contest, UAB allowed Davis and Almond to take control of the game with two heart-breaking buckets. The two shots would spark a 12-4 run for the Lady Eagles to end the game.
Head coach Randy Norton said he was disappointed with the lack of energy and discipline his team showed in Bartow.
“What makes me more disappointed was just our lack of discipline on defense,” said Norton. “I feel like our energy comes from scoring and on nights where we aren’t scoring, we have to find that energy.”
The loss ends the Blazers’ hopes of earning a double bye in the conference tournament next week. They are now two games behind Southern Miss for the second seed in the West.
The Blazers can lock up the fourth seed with a win or a loss by Rice on Saturday.
UAB is set to take on Louisiana Tech in Ruston, La. on Saturday. The game will tipoff at 2 p.m. and can be streamed on CUSA.tv.
