The Alabama women’s basketball team is still searching for its first 2023 win after a hard-fought loss against Missouri Thursday. The Tigers moved to 3-0 in the SEC with the 66-65 win, while the Crimson Tide fell to 1-2 in league play and has now lost two straight games. 

Alabama (12-4, 1-2 SEC) held a slim lead at the half but found itself on the wrong end of a 26-21 third quarter, which included a crucial buzzer-beater at the end of the frame to break what was previously a tie. From there, the Tigers extended the lead and had the advantage by as many as eight. But scrappy Alabama, fighting for its perfect home record, was not going to go away with a whimper. 

In the fourth quarter, with 25 seconds to play, guard Sarah Ashlee Barker drained a pair of free throws to make it a one-point game. In the final seconds, the Crimson Tide had a chance to win. After some fighting for the ball, Alabama gained possession with just over two seconds to go. It was Barker who hoisted the final shot, she missed, and Alabama’s perfect record inside Coleman Coliseum went by the boards. 

“That’s a tough one,” Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said. “Credit our kids for fighting, and clawing, and scraping themselves back into it. {We] made some plays down the stretch, and just couldn’t finish there at the end. It’s a tough one, but we’ll bounce back.” 

Three players in double figures for the Crimson Tide wasn’t enough to get it done against Missouri. Barker had 10 points, Jada Rice had 11 and Brittany Davis had another great day with 26. Davis hit 10 shots from the field and four from long range. As a team, Alabama hit just 24-of-60 from the field and went 7-for-20 from beyond the arc. 

“We just have to put longer stretches together, regardless of who’s in the game,” Curry said. “I just think it’s consistency. You don’t have a lot of margin for error. At multiple positions, you have to show up every single day, and we just have to do that.” 

Missouri did not have a 20-point scorer, but did have four in double figures and another with nine. The Crimson Tide did manage to outrebound the Tigers, but that alone wasn’t good enough. Missouri had a 47% conversion rate from the field as opposed to the Crimson Tide’s 40%.  

Alabama has an opportunity at getting back on the right track on Sunday in Neville Arena. It will be the second Tiger team of the week, and it’s rival Auburn. Auburn has yet to win an SEC game and similarly hopes to make a statement in conference play. Tipoff will be at 4 p.m. CT on Sunday. 

Questions or comments? Email Blake Byler (Sports Editor) at [email protected]