Women’s Basketball Falls to UAB in Opening Round of C-USA Tournament

cousin oliver · March 8, 2023

FRISCO, Texas (March 8, 2023) – In the opening round of the Conference USA Tournament, UNT and UAB found themselves tied at 70 with 54 seconds left to play but the Blazers scored five of the final six points down the stretch to take home a 75-71 victory and eliminate the Mean Green from tournament play.

UNT had four players in double figures, led by 16 points from Kendall McGruder who went 6 of 9 from the floor, but could not regain the lead after the six-minute mark of the fourth quarter as they finish the season with an 11-20 overall record.

In addition to McGruder, Quincy Noble scored 14 points while both Jaaucklyn Moore and Tommisha Lampkin chipped in 12 points apiece in the loss.

Out of the gates, both teams came out hot as UNT hit seven of its first nine shots and the Blazers knocked down four of their first seven to make the score 13-12 UAB halfway through the first quarter.

After UNT rattled off seven straight points to take a 19-13 edge, the Blazers answered back with seven of the next eight to tie the contest at 20 late in the period.

McGruder was able to give the Mean Green a lead at the end of the first as she nailed a 3-pointer to go up 23-20 going with 10 seconds left on the clock.

In the second period UNT swelled the lead to as many as nine, its largest lead of the contest, with a 7-1 flurry that made the score 32-23.

Trailing 34-25, UAB got hot from 3-point range and hit three straight shots from downtown and drew a foul on another for three free throws to fuel a 15-2 run that closed out the first half and gave the Blazers a 40-36 edge at the break.

Coming out of halftime, UNT quickly tied the contest at 47 with six straight points before stretched the lead back to four as both teams score 15 points in the third quarter to make the score 55-51 heading into the fourth period.

The Mean Green took the lead for the first time in the second half early in the final quarter as they started with six straight points capped off by an and-one by Jordyn Carter.

With the score 59-58 in favor of UNT, the Blazers took advantage of an and-one of their own by Destinee McGhee to re-take the lead. The score was tied four more times but UAB never trailed from that point on.

With the score 70-70, Denim Deshields was able to drive into the lane for UAB and knock down a layup while drawing a foul. The C-USA All-Freshman team selection hit the free throw to put the Blazers up three.

After Moore hit one of two free throws after a flagrant foul, UNT had the ball down two with 40 seconds left on the clock. Unfortunately, the Mean Green were unable to convert offensively and the Blazers hit two more free throws to seal the 75-71 victory.

UNT struggled from the free throw line throughout the contest going just 14 of 28 from the stripe while UAB converted 18 of its 23 foul shots.

Additionally, the Blazers were able to take advantage of nine UNT turnovers that led to 15 points on the scoreboard.

The Mean Green close the season 11-20 after earning the #7 seed in the C-USA Tournament. Noble is the lone senior on the roster for UNT, but still has one year of eligibility remaining as well.

Quoting Coach Mitchell

“I’m disappointed in the loss. For me, it comes down to free throws. We missed 14 free throws which is way too many. If nothing else is different in the game and we just make five of those free throws we win the game. It was just unfortunate that we couldn’t connect on enough today.”