BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— McNeese women's basketball held Alabama-Birmingham's high-potent offense in check for the first half, but the Blazers came out smoking in the second half, especially from behind the arc to come away with a 91-48 win here Saturday afternoon.

"We really came out and played well to start the game,"said head coach Kacie Cryer. "We executed on both ends of the floor and force UAB to take tough contested shots. When we forced those shots, we got the rebound and was able to convert on offense. I really liked our toughness and effort early in the game."
 
UAB (8-1) was held to a combined six three-pointers in the first half but the Blazer shooters combined to make 10 in the second half including six alone in the third quarter. UAB ended the game with 16 three-pointers and had five players score in double figures. Rachel Childress led all players with a game high 21 points, all coming off seven three-pointers.
 
McNeese (0-7) placed one player in double figure scoring, that being the Cowgirls leading scorer Callie Maddox. Maddox ended the game with 12 points, two shy of her season average. Maia Robinson led the Cowgirls with seven rebounds while Damilola Balogun picked up six.
 
It was the McNeese offense that started out with the hot hand, shooting 75 percent from the field in the first couple of minutes of the game that allowed the Cowgirls to hold a 14-9 lead following a Sky Jasper jumper midway through the first quarter.
 
The Cowgirls continued to hold the lead until UAB's three-point shooting warmed up. With the game tied at 16, UAB's Deanna Kuzmanic's three-pointer gave the Blazers a 19-16 lead and that would be the score after the first quarter.
 
McNeese opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run behind a layup by Maddox and a three-pointer by Bre'Ashlee Jones to take a 21-19 lead.
 
UAB scored the next seven points to take a 26-21 lead. Five of the seven points game off a three-pointer and then a Cowgirl foul on the play allowed UAB to shoot two free throws.
 
Robinson's two free throws ended the Cowgirl scoring skid to cut the lead to 26-23 but 13-4 run by UAB to end the quarter put the Blazers up 39-27 at the half.

"UAB started knocking down shots and we went through a dry spell on offense where we struggled but we continued to battle to keep us withing 12 points at the half," Cryer said.
 
The Blazers continued to build on their lead in the second half, opening up the third quarter on a 17-2 run then ended the quarter 16-3 run behind three straight three-pointers by Rachel Childress in the final 2:19 to take a 70-37 lead after three quarters.  
 
UAB went on to outscore McNeese 21-11 in the final stanza to pick up their eighth win of the season.

"We have to learn to play consistent for the entire 40 minutes and limit the mental lapses on both ends of the floor. We continue to get better with this every game and I was really proud of the girls for battling with a very good UAB team. We will continue to take positives from every game and focus on them with this group, eventually everything will fall into place."
 
McNeese will travel to LSU next Tuesday, Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. It will be the last of three straight road games for the Cowgirls as they will return home for two straight before the Christmas Break.