Alabama Women’s Basketball Holds On For First Road Victory Of The Season

The Alabama women’s basketball team earned its first road victory of the season, defeating Tulane 72-61 on Thursday night.

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Brittany Davis continued to be impressive, scoring ten of the Crimson Tide’s first 12 points. Alabama held a strong 12-5 lead halfway through the first quarter. The Green Wave fought back to make it a one-point deficit, 14-13 at the end of the quarter.

The Crimson Tide showed more balance in the second quarter with six different players scoring nearly five minutes into the frame. Alabama built the lead back up to make the score 30-17, with 5:28 left in the half. Both teams traded baskets throughout the rest of the quarter and the Crimson Tide took a 38-24 lead at the break.

Alabama continued to build on its double-digit lead in the third quarter. The Crimson Tide outscored the Green Wave 14-9 through the first seven minutes of play, to take a 52-33 advantage late in the third quarter. The Green Wave battled back to get it back to a 14-point deficit, but a Davis three-point basket with two seconds left would make the score 57-40 heading into the final frame.

Hannah Barber got hot to start the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-pointers and a layup to help put the Crimson Tide up 67-45, with 5:56 left in the game. 

The commanding 22-point lead seemed to be too much to come back from, but the Green Wave did not back down.

Five different Tulane players scored in the next few minutes, spearheading an 11-0 run. The Green Wave cut this 22-point deficit in half with three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Jada Rice finally earned the Crimson Tide’s first bucket in over three minutes to make the score 69-56, with 2:36 left in the game.

Neither team could put points on the board for a while until a Rice foul put the Green Wave at the free-throw line with 35 seconds left in the game. Tulane would knock down both free throws to cut the deficit to 69-58.

Alabama would hold on in the final seconds to secure the 72-61 victory.

“Road wins are hard and I thought our team really found a way to win down the stretch,” said Alabama head coach Kristy Curry. “Wanna finish the game better, but was pleased with just our ability to do the little things down the stretch there to find a way, so a lot to lot from and we’ll just continue to move forward and get back to work tomorrow.”

Three Alabama players scored in double figures including Davis (24), Barber (12), and Rice (10). Davis added 11 rebounds to achieve the first double-double of the season for the Crimson Tide.

“She [Davis] just does a really good job of countering what the defense is taking way, she plays extremely hard, moves well without the ball,” said Curry. “I was really proud of her double-double tonight.”

Up next, the Crimson Tide travels to Tampa, Fla. for a matchup against the South Florida Bulls. These two squads are set to face off on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. CST.