Alabama Women’s Basketball Lost 88-80 to the Lady Vols on Thursday

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- The highly anticipated Top 20 clash between, No.18 Alabama and No.15 Tennessee kicked off with an intense atmosphere that set the tone for the entire night.

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The Crimson Tide started out strong, with their defense stifling the Lady Vols' attempts to find open looks. The Crimson Tide surged ahead 10-4, prompting the Lady Vols coach Kim Caldwell to call a timeout to regroup her squad. Following the break, the Lady Vols quickly leveled the score at 13-13, which forced the Crimson Tide to take a timeout of their own to strategize. After the pause, the Crimson Tide got back in rhythm, launching a 7-0 run to reclaim the lead at 20-13, capped off by a 3-pointer from Aaliyah Nye, finishing the quarter ahead 22-17.

The intensity ramped up in the second quarter, where the Lady Vols began to gain momentum with a 10-0 run, marking their first lead of the game. The Crimson Tide responded with a 8-0 run to close the gap, but the Lady Vols countered with another 10-0 run, taking a 42-37 lead into halftime, leaving the Crimson Tide with significant adjustments to make in the second half.

The Lady Vols wasted no time in the third quarter, with Talaysia Cooper scoring early. The Crimson Tide answered with two, but the Lady Vols quickly extended their lead to 47-39 with 8:42 remaining, The Lady Vols dominated the early part of the quarter, outscoring the Crimson Tide 16-5, pushing their advantage to 58-42 at the media timeout.

The Lady Vols maintained their momentum, heading into the fourth quarter with a 14-point lead at 65-51.

The fourth quarter was a thrilling exchange of momentum. The Lady Vols started to widen their advantage, yet the Crimson Tide responded with tenacity, narrowing the gap to just 11 points (70-59). Sarah Ashlee Barker was instrumental, in a late run that brought the Crimson Tide within striking distance at 79-75 with just 3:15 to play. However, the Lady Vols quickly responded, shooting the next five points to push their lead back to nine. With just over a minute left, Zee Spearmen extended the advantage to 10, and Cooper followed suit with 39 seconds remaining, ultimately securing the victory 88-80.

“We just have to do a better job in a couple of areas. We gave up a couple of offensive rebounds that led to kick-out threes. The margin for error is very small. I thought we did a really good job against the press, only having 10 turnovers. We just missed some shots, didn't finish at the rim and gave up too many offensive rebounds. Our kids played so hard and competed, we just weren't able to get enough made shots down the stretch," said Kristy Curry following the game.

GAME NOTES:

• The Crimson Tide’s starters (Barker, Essence Cody, Zaay Green, Nye and Karly Weathers) all scored in double figures, accounting for 75 Alabama's 80 points
• With a trio of 3-pointers, Nye tied the Alabama record for most threes made in program history (272)
•  Barker hit the 1,500 career points mark after her 22-point performance
• For the seventh time this season, Barker scored 20 or more points in one game
• Alabama tallied 20 points off 15 Tennessee turnovers
• Alabama shot 43% from the floor (30-of-69), 41% from deep (11-of-27) and 82% from the line (9-of-11)
• In comparison, Tennessee shot 48% from the field (32-of-67), 38% from 3-point range (8-of-21) and 89% from the charity stripe (16-of-18)

The Crimson Tide is set to make a return to Coleman Coliseum this Sunday, where they'll go head-to-head with the Auburn Tigers. The matchup is scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. CT.