Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
UAB
Childress, Blazers Hold Off Game Herd Effort
2/10/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats 
Postgame Press Conference
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Rachael Childress drilled seven 3-pointers and helped the UAB women's basketball team thwart a Marshall comeback to emerge victorious 69-62 Saturday afternoon in the Cam Henderson Center.
The Blazers improved to 20-3 and 9-1 in Conference USA, while the Thundering Herd fell to 7-17 and 1-10 in the league.
Childress, who also lit up the Thundering Herd for seven treys in Birmingham last season, finished with a game-high 24 points, to go with 12 from Kara Rawls (6-for-7 shooting) and 11 by Miyah Barnes (3-for-14 from the field). Angela Vendrell also contributed eight rebounds and a game-high three blocked shots. Deanna Kuzmanic led the visitors with five assists.
Marshall got 21 points by Shayna Gore, who made four of her nine 3-point attempts. Talequia Hamilton finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while Kristen Mayo added 10 points and four assists.
The Blazers held a commanding edge on points in the paint (30-16).
UAB went ahead by as many as 17 on a Childress layup (36-19) with 2:06 left in the second quarter and took an 11-point lead (36-25) into the half.
The Thundering Herd, though, chipped away in the third quarter and went ahead by one (54-53) on a Gore three-point play with seven minutes left.
However, the Blazers responded with a 7-0 run on a Kuzmanic jumper, a Rawls layup and a triple by Childress to push the margin back to six. The Thundering Herd was able to get the contest back to a one-possession game, but Barnes made all four of her free throw attempts in the final 17 seconds to clinch the win.
"I challenged our team after what we saw out there Thursday," said Marshall head coach Tony Kemper. "We'll be just fine if that (Saturday's effort) is the standard from which we operate. We did that for 40 minutes and we put together a really complete game. They (UAB) are a good defensive team. We had a bad quarter, but some of that is them being a good basketball team. Sometimes you move it well and just don't make the shot."
"I'm tired of moral victories but we have to continue to get into the fight to learn how to get over the hump."
Gore, who is already the school's all-time leader in 3-pointers made (196), now was 1,344 points, good enough for seventh on the school's all-time scoring list. Next up is Tammy Wiggins (1,360; 1983-87) in sixth.
Hamilton now has 131 blocked shots, good for third all-time at Marshall.
The Thundering Herd will be back home Thursday when UTEP visits for a 6 p.m. tip.
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