Junior Taylor Pearson led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds as the Marshall University women’s basketball team defeated the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers Saturday afternoon at the Cam Henderson Center. The final score was 61-56.

“That was a good win for us,” Marshall Head Coach Tony Kemper said. “A good bounce back from what happened on Thursday night. That game was won by defense.”

Freshman Savannah Wheeler followed behind with 15 points, two rebounds and three assists.

Senior Khadaijia Brooks completed nine points, six rebounds and led the team in assists with four. Senior Ashley Saintigene finished with eight points, nine rebounds and one assist.

The Herd improved to 7-8 (2-2 Conference USA) while the Blazers dropped to 9-7 (1-3 C-USA) on the season.

The Herd outscored UAB in the paint 28-16 and off turnovers 12-9 and overall shot 34.5% (19-for-55) in the game. UAB shot 31.0% (18-for-58) throughout the contest.

“It’s a mental thing, you just got to stay locked in,” Wheeler said. “Really concentrate and knock them (shots) down.”

The Blazers were led by Miyah Barnes and Rachael Childress scoring 10 points apiece. Angela Vendrell and Imani Johnson had nine points each.

UAB outscored Marshall 19-10 from the bench.

“It’s the attitude. We went into the game knowing we were going to win,” Pearson said. “That’s how you got to walk out onto the floor every single time and know it’s going to happen.”

Up next for the Herd, it will travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to face the University of North Carolina-Charlotte 49ers on Thursday, Jan. 16. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Taylor Huddleston can be contacted at [email protected].