ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Four Colonels scored in double-figures, including
Antwainette Walker who dropped 20 points for her second consecutive game as EKU upset UAB by a score of 68-64 to open the 2023 ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout on Saturday night at Alaska Airlines Center.
With the win, EKU moves to 5-0 to open the season, its best start in program history. Additionally, head coach
Greg Todd moves to 300 NCAA DI career wins.
Forward
Sierra McCullough recorded her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Entering play on Saturday she was the nation's leader in total rebounds.
Guard
Alice Recanati dropped a career-high 10 assists for the second time in her four years in Richmond. She also added five points in the mix.
Ivy Turner (14) and
Brie Crittendon (10) were the last two Colonels to end in double figures. Both guards' point totals marked their fourth consecutive game with 10 or more points.
UAB jumped out to a quick 11-5 run to open Saturday's game. Another four-point Blazer run took both teams to the under-five media timeout. A made three by
Althea Kara Angeles and layups by Turner, Crittendon ended the first frame in a narrow 20-19 score in UAB's favor.
EKU displayed its own 8-0 run to open the second quarter off made baskets by Crittendon, Walker, and Turner. Another three for Walker and a putback by McCullough ended the first half with a three-point, 37-34, Colonel advantage.
After a back-and-forth battle for the first four minutes of the third quarter, UAB pulled away with a nine-point run, extending its lead to 50-41 at the media timeout. The Colonels scored on their next three possessions to bring the deficit to one entering the final 10 minutes of play.
EKU and UAB went scoreless to the 7:09 mark in the fourth quarter until McCullough hit a fastbreak lay for the lead. Both teams remained in a 55-point tie at the television break.
Three rebounds, two layups, and two forced turnovers helped EKU extend its lead to five points with two minutes remaining. EKU hit 8-of-9 free throws in the final two minutes to complete the upset, 68-64.
EKU returns to action on Sunday in the Great Alaska Shootout Championship against either No. 4 Utah or Alaska Anchorage at 11:30 p.m. EST. Fans can catch the game streamed live on YouTube beginning 30 minutes before tipoff.
