Saturday, February 8
Denton
2 PM
University of North Texas
-914,38 CUSA
50
vs
51
UAB
-168,84 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
UAB
11
16
13
11
51
North Texas
16
22
8
4
50
Photo by: Rick Yeatts Photography
UNT drops heartbreaker to UAB
2/8/2020 5:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DENTON – The North Texas women's basketball team let a second half lead slip away for the second straight game in a 51-50 loss to UAB on Saturday afternoon.
North Texas led 42-27 midway through the third quarter before enduring a second half scoring drought that saw the Mean Green score eight points in the final 15 minutes and 13 seconds of the game.
"They went to a zone in the second half that kind of made us play at a different pace than we did in the first half," head coach Jalie Mitchell said. "That zone gave us some different looks, and we really weren't able to get all the way to the rim. And then we just didn't knock down the open shots we needed to in the second half."
Despite the second half struggles, the Mean Green (9-14, 3-8 C-USA) still had chances to win the game. Charlene Shepherd tied the game with under two minutes to play before a free throw from UAB (16-8, 8-4 C-USA) put the Blazers up by one with 1:14 left on the clock. North Texas couldn't convert on either of its two shots in the final 46 seconds.
UNT played well on the defensive side of the court, holding the Blazers 25 points under their season scoring average. Mitchell praised her team for its defensive efforts against one of the top offensive teams in Conference USA.
"We bought into the game plan defensively," Mitchell said. "We just had a few minutes where we let their [UAB] best player get loose. Other than that, we did an excellent job of executing on defense."
Anisha George led North Texas with 22 points and seven rebounds. Randi Thompson added another 12 points while tying for a team high eight rebounds.
Much like Thursday's game against Middle Tennessee, the Mean Green came out of the gates playing with lots of intensity. UNT scored 38 points in the first half while shooting 54.5% from the field. North Texas averaged 40.5 first half points in its two contests this week.
UAB struggled to find an answer for George at the start of the game, who scored 18 of her 22 in the opening half. The Mean Green as a whole scored 38 of its 50 points in the paint. However, UNT struggled from the free throw line with an 0 for 8 performance on the afternoon.
North Texas has now lost four consecutive games. Seven of its 14 losses have occurred when they have led by double digits in the second half.
The Mean Green will look to break the four-game skid next week when they travel east for a two-game road trip against Charlotte and Old Dominion.
North Texas led 42-27 midway through the third quarter before enduring a second half scoring drought that saw the Mean Green score eight points in the final 15 minutes and 13 seconds of the game.
"They went to a zone in the second half that kind of made us play at a different pace than we did in the first half," head coach Jalie Mitchell said. "That zone gave us some different looks, and we really weren't able to get all the way to the rim. And then we just didn't knock down the open shots we needed to in the second half."
Despite the second half struggles, the Mean Green (9-14, 3-8 C-USA) still had chances to win the game. Charlene Shepherd tied the game with under two minutes to play before a free throw from UAB (16-8, 8-4 C-USA) put the Blazers up by one with 1:14 left on the clock. North Texas couldn't convert on either of its two shots in the final 46 seconds.
UNT played well on the defensive side of the court, holding the Blazers 25 points under their season scoring average. Mitchell praised her team for its defensive efforts against one of the top offensive teams in Conference USA.
"We bought into the game plan defensively," Mitchell said. "We just had a few minutes where we let their [UAB] best player get loose. Other than that, we did an excellent job of executing on defense."
Anisha George led North Texas with 22 points and seven rebounds. Randi Thompson added another 12 points while tying for a team high eight rebounds.
Much like Thursday's game against Middle Tennessee, the Mean Green came out of the gates playing with lots of intensity. UNT scored 38 points in the first half while shooting 54.5% from the field. North Texas averaged 40.5 first half points in its two contests this week.
UAB struggled to find an answer for George at the start of the game, who scored 18 of her 22 in the opening half. The Mean Green as a whole scored 38 of its 50 points in the paint. However, UNT struggled from the free throw line with an 0 for 8 performance on the afternoon.
North Texas has now lost four consecutive games. Seven of its 14 losses have occurred when they have led by double digits in the second half.
The Mean Green will look to break the four-game skid next week when they travel east for a two-game road trip against Charlotte and Old Dominion.
Team Stats
UAB
UNT
FG%
.352
.421
3FG%
.222
.250
FT%
.818
.000
RB
36
38
TO
11
14
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
11
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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