Alabama Women’s Basketball Secures Huge Win on Senior Night

TUSCALOOSA, Ala- An in-state showdown occurred on Sunday night between No.18 Alabama and Auburn women's basketball teams. This marked the 86th meeting in history, with the Tigers leading the series 52-33. However, the Crimson Tide added their 34th win against the Tigers, winning the matchup 66-50.

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The Tigers aimed to win inside Coleman Coliseum for the first time since the 2018-19 season. They opened the first quarter strong, threatening the Crimson Tide and forcing them to respond. Both teams were even until eight minutes remained in the first when the Tigers took a 2-0 lead. They soon extended their advantage to 13-2 with under four minutes to play. The Crimson Tide began to strike back, closing the gap to 13-7 with 2:15 left in the quarter after Aaliyah Nye knocked down her first 3-pointer of the game, making her 273rd career 3-pointer and setting a new program record. However, the Tigers kept pulling ahead, ultimately leading the first quarter 20-9 after Jordan Hunter hit a wide-open 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The second quarter was where the Crimson Tide found their rhythm. After being down 24-9 with nine minutes left in the quarter, they picked up the pace and narrowed the gap to 29-18 with 3:46 remaining before halftime. The Crimson Tide ultimately went on a 17-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 30-29.

"When you get defensive stops you are going to be able to score in transition, and that's where we play our best basketball," said Sarah Ashlee Barker following the game. "We looked at each other in the media timeout and knew it was on us. We were the ones that were not playing well and did things we shouldn't have done. We had to fix it."

In the third quarter, the Crimson Tide lit up and continued their momentum against their in-state rivals. The Tigers threatened again by cutting their lead to six points at the first media timeout, but the Crimson Tide could not be denied with the help of more 3-pointers from Nye (2) and Barker (1), and Zaay Green (2), Barker (2), and Christabel Ezumah (1) contributing a total of five layups, putting them ahead 49-39 going into the final quarter.

The Tigers tried to narrow the score again with just a six-point gap with 8:58 left and the score 49-43. However, the Crimson Tide weren't done defending their court just yet as they were able to keep ahead and ultimately win the game 66-50, making it a night to remember for their five seniors: Nye, Barker, Green, Ezumah, JeAnna Cunningham, and Jessica Timmons.

“It was a great win. A lot of how we won the game, is how the senior class is, and the kind of people they are and character that they exude. When it got hard, they embraced hard. I just am so incredibly proud of the win today. We had an amazing crowd and an opportunity today to play for something bigger than basketball, to raise awareness for women's cancer and awareness for our power of pink and what that initiative in this community is about. We're so proud to be a part of it today, and our play for Kay [Yow] and everything that Coach Yow has done. We just want everyone here to know how much we appreciate their support today. What an incredible environment, and just so happy for our senior class," said coach Kristy Curry following the game.

The Crimson Tide will finish their home schedule against the No.7 LSU Tigers on Feb. 27 at 8:00 p.m. on SEC Network.

GAME NOTES:

• Nye made six 3-pointers to become Alabama’s all-time 3-point shooter (278), surpassing the previous mark of 272 by Betsy Harris in 1994. Nye reached the mark in just three seasons (2022-25). Additionally, Nye recorded her sixth game of the season with six-plus made three-pointers
•  Barker is the fifth Alabama player to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 250 assists during her tenure at The Capstone
• The Crimson Tide scored 34 points off of 21 Auburn turnovers
• Barker, Green and Nye combined for 54 of Alabama’s total points
• Alabama shot 48% from the floor (26-of-54), 38% from deep (8-of-21) and 60% from the line (6-of-10)
• In comparison, Auburn shot 40% from the field (21-of-52), 14% from 3-point range (1-of-7) and 50% from the charity stripe (7-of-14)