The Alabama Crimson Tide women’s basketball team continues to dominate its opponents to kick off its 2023-24 campaign. The weekend’s victim was the Morehead State Eagles, who fell decisively to the Crimson Tide by a score of 85-44 Sunday afternoon in Coleman Coliseum.
Alabama looked to set the tone early when forward Essence Cody made a tough layup despite being fouled on the very first play of the game. The Eagles had a clear emphasis on putting defensive pressure on the Crimson Tide early.
It was evident that Morehead State wanted to establish itself physically from the start, but Alabama resisted, holding Morehead State to just six points in the first quarter.
“Going into the game, we knew that they were going to try and play as hard as they could, they’re a really well coached team,” guard Sarah Ashlee Barker said. “It was about understanding that this team is different than the last two teams we’ve played.”
The Crimson Tide started to pull away in the second quarter, outscoring the Eagles 23-5. The route continued as Alabama took a 68-25 lead into the fourth quarter.
“You got to be able to score at different levels at different times and I think that’s what we did,” Barker said. “We shared the ball really well, especially in the third quarter … and people were hitting shots.”
Guard Aaliyah Nye led the way for the Crimson Tide with 14 points on 50% shooting from the field. She also went on to shoot 4-7 from 3-point land.
Perhaps Nye’s biggest moment of the game came as she nailed a 3-point buzzer-beater as time expired in the third quarter.
This effort from Nye capped off her team’s highest-scoring quarter of the game at 27 points.
Having a strong second half was something that the team had put emphasis on headed into the game, so it was big for that effort to get rewarded with a very high-scoring third quarter.
“The last game, we realized that we didn’t play that good in the third and fourth quarter,” Nye said. “So, this game we made it more intentional to come out and continue what we did in the first and second half.”
After the game, head coach Kristy Curry said she was pleased with how her squad played and also noted the importance of having better starts to the second half.
“I thought that today we put together four quarters. I wasn’t very happy with our response at half against Winthrop,” Curry said. “We came out and took care of business better. Putting four quarters together and being consistent is going to be so important to our success.”
Curry then turned her attention to the fans by stressing the importance of showing out for the Crimson Tide’s showdown with South Florida on Thursday night.
“We need Crimson Tide nation to show up for us on Thursday because we were in Tampa a year ago and it didn’t go very well. They had a phenomenal crowd and it’s a great series,” Curry said. “We need a great crowd in here against an NCAA tournament team.”
The Crimson Tide will look to finish its opening homestand with a perfect record with a tilt against the South Florida Bulls scheduled for Thursday night at 6 p.m. CT.
