BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | Three Alabama A&M University women's basketball players reached double figures in scoring, but it wasn't enough as a late run by UAB lifted the Blazers to a 70-63 victory on Monday afternoon at Bartow Arena.
Alabama A&M (0-1) nearly pulled off its first win in program history over UAB. The Blazers entered the game 8-0 all-time against AAMU, including 7-0 at Bartow Arena.
The Bulldogs led 53-49 with 8:27 remaining but could not hold off the Blazers. UAB (1-0) held Alabama A&M without a field goal over the final 2:21 and used a 7-0 run down the stretch to pick up the win.
Amiah Simmons paced the Bulldogs with 14 points, going 6-of-11 from the floor, with five steals, four rebounds and three assists.
Kaylah Turner registered 11 points, three assists and one board, while Asia Nicholson tallied 10 points, on 5-of-8 shooting, six boards and one steal.
Mia Moore led UAB with a game-high 27 points, on 11-of-14 shooting, with six rebounds, two steals and one assist. Kylee Schneringer added nine points, three boards and one assist, while Tracey Bershers pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Gallery: (11-6-2023) Alabama A&M at UAB
HOW IT HAPPENED
UAB began the game strong by jumping out to a 5-0 lead just two minutes into the contest.
However, Alabama A&M answered with a 11-0 run, capped by a layup by Simmons as the Bulldogs took an 11-5 advantage with 4:16 remaining in the first period.
The Blazers ended a stretch of five minutes without a point as Mia Moore sank a free throw closing the gap to 13-6 with just over three minutes left in the quarter.
UAB cut the deficit to 13-10 after a triple by Genevive Wedemeyer with 57 seconds left, but a bucket by Simmons sent the Bulldogs into the second period with a 15-10 advantage.
Alabama A&M continued to extend the lead, pushing the margin to 20-14 after a 3-pointer by
Darian Burgin with 7:01 left in the half.
UAB trimmed the deficit to 23-20 after a layup by Moore with 5:28 remaining, but a jumper by Burgin pushed the lead to 25-20 with exactly five minutes to play in the quarter.
The Bulldogs went nearly four minutes without a field goal as the Blazers used an 8-0 run, capped by a Desiree Ware layup, giving UAB a 28-26 lead with 1:40 left in the half.
Two free throws by Wedemeyer put the Blazers ahead 30-28 but Turner's turnaround jumper as time expired sent the two teams into the break tied at 30.
Both teams went back-and-forth early in the third quarter as Alabama A&M took a 45-41 lead with 2:57 remaining in the period after a pair of free throws by
Alisha Wilson.
UAB answered and took a 47-46 lead after two free throws by Tracey Bershers with 1:39 left, but back came AAMU as Simmons sank a pair of free throws, sending the Bulldogs into the final quarter with a 50-47 advantage.
The Blazers opened the final period strong, tying the game at 53 after a Denim Deshields layup with 7:06 remaining.
The two teams went into the final media timeout tied at 57 and UAB came out of the break on fire. The Blazers used a 6-0 run, with all six points coming from Moore, as UAB grabbed a 63-57 advantage with 3:11 left.
Buckets by Turner and Wilson closed the gap to 63-62 with 2:21 remaining, but UAB used a 7-1 run over the next two minutes to extend the margin to 70-63 lead with 21 seconds remaining.
Alabama A&M could not respond as UAB escaped with the victory.
GAME NOTES
- Alabama A&M shot 41 percent (25-of-61) from the floor and 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from the free-throw line
- The Bulldogs registered 35 rebounds, with 13 coming on the offensive glass
- Amiah Simmons tallied 14 points, five steals, four rebounds and three assists
- Kaylah Turner added 11 points, three assists and one board
- Asianae Nicholson recorded 10 points, six boards and one steal
- Alisha Wilson led the way defensively with a team-high eight rebounds
- The Bulldogs finished with 40 points in the paint, 35 bench points, 16 second-chance points, eight points off 12 UAB turnovers and five fastbreak points
- UAB went 25-of-57 shooting (43.9 percent) and 17-of-21 (81 percent) from the charity stripe
- Mia Moore finished with 27 points, two steals and one assist
- Kylee Schneringer added nine points, three boards and one assist
- Tracey Bershers pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
- The Blazers finished with 42 points in the paint, 17 bench points, 13 points off 15 Alabama A&M turnovers, nine fastbreak points and five second-chance points
UP NEXT
Alabama A&M returns to action on Thursday night with a trip to Colorado State. Tip-off against the Rams is set for 7:30 p.m. from Moby Arena.
For complete coverage of Alabama A&M Athletics, check out the official homepage at www.aamusports.com. Remember to follow us on social media: Instagram (@aamuathletics) and Twitter (@_aamuathletics).
