Alabama Women’s Basketball Clinches Pink Flamingo Championship

NASSAU, Bahamas — Before feasting for Thanksgiving, the Alabama women's basketball team journeyed to Nassau, Bahamas, and returned with the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship trophy after winning both matchups against Harvard and Minnesota.

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On Monday, Alabama defeated Harvard 80-60, overcoming a four-point halftime deficit by scoring over 25 points in each of the final two quarters.

The first quarter saw a closely contested battle, with Harvard seizing a slight lead to close the quarter at 15-13. In the second quarter, Essence Cody evened the score with a layup, but Harvard responded with a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 21-15. Alabama responded, trailing 30-26 at halftime.

Alabama ignited the third quarter with a 14-6 run, highlighted by Jessica Timmons’ consecutive 3-pointers, as well as six points in the paint, leading 40-37. The quarter remained competitive, with Alabama ultimately securing a 52-48 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Alabama extended its lead to 14 points following a 19-6 run, eventually earning its largest lead of 20 points to end the game with a dominating 80-60 victory.

"Just really proud of our grit and toughness,” coach Kristy Curry said postgame. “In the second half, we were able to have everything start with our intensity on the defensive end, and we were fortunate enough to be the aggressor and then take it to the opposite end and got to the free throw line. We did a much better job about playing without the foul and rebounding, and I just loved the intensity and grit down the stretch."

After a day off, Alabama faced Minnesota on Wednesday, defeating the Gophers 63-58 to win the championship.

Timmons ignited the game with an early 3-pointer, giving Alabama an 8-4 lead in the first quarter. The Crimson Tide continued their momentum with three consecutive layups from Cody, capping off the quarter with a 16-8 lead.

In the second quarter, Alabama maintained control, scoring 11 points while holding Minnesota to nine, leading 27-17 at halftime.

Minnesota mounted a comeback with a 14-6 run, narrowing Alabama's lead to five points. The Gophers continued to assert dominance, outscoring Alabama 14-4 in the paint, closing the gap to 44-43 by the end of the third quarter, leaving the fourth quarter up for grabs.

In the fourth quarter, Alabama rallied with an 11-5 run to secure a 63-58 victory, despite Minnesota briefly taking the lead.

Communication played a huge role in the win. In a postgame interview, Timmons emphasized the importance of communication and how it helped the Crimson Tide shut down the Gophers. "It was very important whether we were going to switch, start off switching in the inbounds... Our coaches let us know that we didn't want them to score three if they had a two make sure we don't foul... communicating to each other that plays a vital role in basketball and in the win today."

Cody and Timmons were named to the All-Tournament team, with Cody also receiving the Most Valuable Player award. Cody has scored in double figures in every game this season. During the tournament, she contributed 34 points, while Timmons posted 43 points.

Alabama will return to Coleman Coliseum on Dec. 1 for its annual Fifth Grade Fast Break game against Kennesaw State at 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network+.