The young University Heights Academy Lady Blazers, with a roster of only seven players, continue to make progress over the course of the 2021 basketball season. The Lady Blazers outscored Russellville in the first and fourth quarters Friday night in Blazer Gym, but the taller and deeper Lady Panthers did enough in the middle two quarters to take home a 55-39 win.
Behind the point guard play of Alecia Davis and the outside shooting of Brianna Daniel, the Lady Blazers jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in the game. Russellville battled back, but it was the Lady Blazers who were up 11-10 when the quarter came to an end.
The turning point of the game came in the opening moments of the second quarter. With UHA struggling to find the basket, and the Lady Panthers controlling the boards, Russellville started the second quarter with a 16-3 run to take a 26-14 lead. The Lady Blazers would not get back within single digits for the rest of the night.
Russellville would take a 32-18 lead at the break.
The big run in the second quarter was the only time of the night that Russellville took the Lady Blazers out of the contest. Otherwise, UHA stood toe to toe with the tall and athletic Lady Panthers.
UHA would close to within 12 points on a couple of occasions in the third quarter, the last coming at 36-24. Russellville closed out the quarter on a 6-0 spurt to effectively finish the game.
While few in the number of players, one thing the Lady Blazers have not been short on this season is fight. Increased stamina was in evidence in the final quarter, as the Lady Blazers would outscore Russellville 15-13 over the final eight minutes of the game to trim the final margin down to 16 points. Davis and Brittyn Northington had big second halves for UHA.
Alecia Davis and Brianna Daniel led the Lady Blazers with ten points each. Brittyn Northington added 9.
For Russellville, Amiyah Collier finished the night with 17 points. Anastasia Dowlen added 16 and was dominant on the boards for the Lady Panthers.
A big story in the game was the rebounding. Russellville ended up out boarding the Lady Blazers 56-42.
UHA drops to 1-11 and will travel to Dawson Springs Saturday afternoon. The Lady Blazers won the earlier matchup this season between the two teams at Blazer Gym.
Russellville moves to 6-8, and hits the road Monday to take on Allen County-Scottsville.
RHS — 10 22 10 13 – 55
UHA — 11 7 6 15 – 39
Russellville (6-8) – Collier 17, Dowlen 16, Cawthorne 7, Patel 4, Mason 3, Hines 3, Whitescarver 2, Kennedy 2, Yancey 1.
University Heights (1-11) – Davis 10, Daniel 10, Northington 9, Bass 4, Smith 4, Acree 2.
