The Alabama women’s basketball team made its return home a successful one with a beatdown of the Gardner-Webb University Runnin’ Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon. The win is the team’s second in a row. 

The Crimson Tide (4-2) was firing on all cylinders from the opening tip, only giving up six points in the first quarter of the game. Gardner-Webb (4-2) had no answers. Alabama was the better team from the start and it kept its strong start going with a 45-18 first half score. The 89-60 margin was the Crimson Tide’s largest margin of victory since Nov. 7. 

“That’s a team that’s picked to win their league,” head coach Kristy Curry said. “We did a really good job of getting off to a really good first and second quarter.” 

“Every minute that everyone gets right now is really critical,” Curry said. “The minutes that we got from everyone today [were] really valuable. … It’s a good day.” 

The Crimson Tide shot 59% from the field and 89% from the free-throw line. In addition to that, Alabama was able to out-rebound Gardner-Webb. Rebounding remains a point of emphasis for Curry, who is adamant that her team rebounds well on both sides of the ball.  

The Alabama defense was strong and held off a Gardner-Webb team that hasn’t scored below 80 points in a win all season long. It was evident early on that that mark would not be reached. The Crimson Tide forced the issue, pressured, created turnovers and rebounded to limit the chances the Bulldogs did have. 

“I think whenever everybody is bought in, and we’re sharing the ball, and getting steals, and things like that, it brings an energy and makes us want to keep going hard,” guard Megan Abrams said. 

Gardner-Webb had just 19 field goals in Sunday’s game, and only four triples. The bulk of the scoring came after halftime, and Alabama still would have won the game 44-42 if only the third and fourth quarters counted. It was a strong effort on both sides of the ball. 

Brittany Davis and Loyal McQueen each had 13 points to lead the Crimson Tide. McQueen had six field goals.  

Freshman Karly Weathers returned to the floor after missing every game since the season opener with a hand injury she suffered in practice. She scored three points and was on the floor for 23 minutes, also recording three rebounds and two assists. 

“She’s always where she’s supposed to be,” Curry said. “I appreciate the fact that it’s more about whatever she needs to do for her team. She’s always in the mix. Look at how hard she tries to rebound, she does a great job of spacing on the offensive end, does all the little things. … It’s good to have her back.” 

Alabama will travel again for its next game, a Wednesday road contest against Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. The Crimson Tide has a wealth of road experience this season and will add to it at 6 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Nov. 30. 

Questions or comments? Email Austin Hannon (Sports Editor) at [email protected]