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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Host UAB hit eight of its first 10 shots and never trailed as it dealt the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team a 64-41 loss to open the UAB Thanksgiving Classic on Friday night.

The Blazers raced out to a 12-2 lead in the first minutes and change, scoring nine-straight points after it was 3-2 early on. Bailie Roberts finally ended a nearly three-minute drought with a three-pointer to make it 12-5 with 15:38 to play in the first half.

After that trifecta, Southeast went scoreless for the next 7:04 and UAB took advantage with an 18-0 run to up the lead to 30-5 with 8:50 left in the opening stanza.

The Blazers went up by as many as 31 points (48-17) with 1:17 left in the opening frame and took a 50-21 lead into the locker room at the break.

UAB shot 54.3 percent from the floor and went 8-for-15 from three-point range to help build the lead.

The Redhawks picked things up defensively in the second half, holding the Blazers scoreless for a 6:18 span midway through the final period.  Southeast only allowed 14 points and held UAB to 24 percent shooting (1-for-12 from three-point range) in the final 20 minutes.

Despite the stout defensive performance in the second half, the Redhawks were unable to get any closer than 23 points the rest of the way.

“I am very disappointed with tonight,” Southeast head coach Ty Margenthaler said. “We allowed them to shoot wide open shots to get confidence early. We have to be ready to go from the beginning, because if we don't teams will get hot at home and put you down. We tightened up defensively and showed something in the second half, but I'm disappointed with the effort. We need to regroup and get ready for a very good Samford team tomorrow.”

Courtney Shiffer led Southeast with 11 points, her second-straight game in double figures. Patricia Mack grabbed a team-best six rebounds.

The Blazers shot 41.7 percent on the night from the floor and hit 9-of-27 from beyond the arc. UAB held a 35-31 advantage in rebounding, though that gap was closed from a 19-10 margin in the opening frame. Southeast shot 35.9 percent of its shots and went 1-for-8 on three-point attempts. Southeast struggled at the line, hitting only 12-of-21 free throws while UAB countered by making 5-of-6 at the charity stripe. The Redhawks committed 20 turnovers while the Blazers turned it over only 10 times.

Southeast concludes its tournament weekend tomorrow when it takes on Samford. Opening tip is at 2 p.m.