SMU guard Alisha Filmore driving for the basket during a game against the University of Central Florida March 1 at Moody Coliseum. (MICHAEL DOOLEY/The Daily Campus)

Two years ago, they were Conference USA tournament champions. A year ago, they became C-USA champions for the regular season. And for their final season, the seniors of the SMU women’s basketball team had a dream of going further than they had ever gone before.
 

The University of Alabama-Birmingham struck down that dream in the second round of the C-USA tournament, 64-59, on Tuesday, March 9. The Mustangs, ranked No. 3 in C-USA, received a first round bye and were able to skip ahead to the second round of the tournament. The Blazers, No. 6 in the conference, defeated No. 11 Tulsa on Monday to advance to the quarterfinal game against SMU.
 

The game started well for the Mustangs, as they took an 18-6 lead with a flurry of baskets from their starters. However, SMU’s shooters suddenly went cold and the Blazers stormed back to tie the game, 18-18, with six minutes remaining in the first half. The Mustangs managed to fend off the attack and went into halftime up by three, 25-22.
 

After halftime, UAB’s offense pressed SMU and the Mustangs’ offense could not answer. The Blazers, in the first half, shot only 25.7 percent from the field and did not make a single three-pointer. The Mustangs, on the other hand, shot 43.5 percent from the field and made two of nine three-pointers.
 

In the second half, those statistics essentially flipped. UAB shot a staggering 52 percent from the floor while the Mustangs shot less than half of that at 25.9 percent. The Blazers also made 3 three-pointers, one more than the Mustangs. However, SMU heaved up 11 three-pointers compared to just six for UAB.
 

Junior Haley Day and senior Jillian Samuels both put up 13 points for the Mustangs while senior Alice Severin, in her first game back from injury, contributed 10 points. Sophomore Christine Elliot had eight points and 16 rebounds.
 

Of the 64 points that the Blazers scored, 60 of those points came from three players. Freshman Amber Jones led UAB with 23 points off the bench. Freshman Jala Harris also came off the bench to put up 16 points. Senior Tamika Dukes scored 21 points and was one of two starters that even scored a single point.
 

UAB, after defeating the Mustangs, also defeated the University of Houston in the semifinals to reach the finals. However, the Blazers’ dream run hit a brick wall against No. 1 Tulane.
 

The Mustangs now await word from the NIT or the NCAA to find out if their season will continue in tournament play.