By: Deja Harrison-GSU Sports Info.
Box Score BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | The Grambling State University women's basketball team fell short in the final quarter as the University of Alabama at Birmingham rallied to win, 70-62, Sunday evening at the Bartow Arena.
"I thought our young ladies played tough this evening," Head Coach
Freddie Murray said. "We had great defensive intensity, and played with maximum effort. We have to do a better job of making timely shots and executing down the stretch especially in fourth quarters. We are growing as a basketball team, have a lot of depth and have only started to scratch the surface."
Grambling State (1-3) led, 18-15, at the end of one quarter and went into the break with a six-point lead, 38-32. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (3-1) played tit for tat in third having the 19-18 point advantage in the period, but trailed 56-51 into the fourth quarter.
Alexus Holt led Grambling State with 15 points including 7-of-11 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
Candice Parramore chipped in 10 points, four boards and three steals while teammate
Ariel Williams contributed 11 points and four rebounds, restrictively.
Margaret Whitley led all scorers with 27 points, seven rebounds, one assists and two steals, while Zakyia Weathersby contributed a double-double, including 13 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Turning Point
The Lady Tigers carried the largest lead of the night, 35-25, after a 3-pointer by Holt with 1:52 left in the second. Grambling State would lose the third quarter scoring battle, 19-18, but still had the 56-51 advanced going into the fourth. The game was tied at 58 after a pair of free-throws by UAB's, Claudia Armoto with 5:24 remaining. Williams would get a layup at the 2:57 mark, but that was the last time the Lady Tigers scored as UAB used a 12-2 run to close out the game.
Inside the Numbers
> Grambling State was 22-of-62 (62.0 percent) shooting and 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) from the charity stripe
> UAB shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field and 91.7 percent (22-of-24) from the free-throw line
> The Lady Tigers registered 33 rebounds, including nine off the offensive glass
> Alabama at Birmingham pulled down 43 rebounds, with 35 coming on the defensive end
> Grambling State finished with 32 points in the paint, nine points off 12 UAB turnovers, 20 bench points, seven fast-break points and six second-chance points
> UAB registered 14 bench points, 28 points in the paint, six points off eight Lady Tiger turnovers, 10 fast-break points and nine second-chance points
Up Next
Grambling State returns to action on Wednesday, December 16 against Arkansas State. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m CT at the First National Bank Arena in Jonesboro, Ark.
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