Women’s basketball has been a powerhouse since the beginning of the season, with demanding wins over teams like South Florida, Louisiana-Monroe and even No. 17/15 Louisville. All are teams that have consistently played well in their conferences.
But Thursday night’s game marked the beginning of the Crimson Tide’s SEC slate, a much tougher and more demanding schedule, and resulted in the team’s third season loss after going 55-45 against Ole Miss.
“I’m really grateful for the win,” Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “That was a huge game for us. With Alabama being a 25-nat. [nationally ranked team], we expect them to be a tournament team in the long run. “
The Rebels’ defense dominated the Crimson Tide, holding its field goal percentage to 29% in Thursday night’s showdown, much lower than Alabama’s season average of 46.5%. Alongside this, the Rebels’ ironclad defense stifled the Crimson Tide’s leading scorers, guards Sarah Ashlee Barker and Aaliyah Nye. Barker went 2-6 on 3-pointers and managing 15 points, while Nye failed to score.
Despite the drop in points, Crimson Tide head coach Kristy Curry remains steadfast that the unfortunate loss didn’t come from the team’s inability to get through the “Great Wall of Ole Miss” but was more about the team simply having a bad night.
“I don’t necessarily think there’s anything that we weren’t used to,” Curry said. “There are very few nights where Loyal [McQueen] and Aaliyah are going to go 2 for 17. It was just a bad night. So I don’t mean to discredit their defense, but we’ve seen that we were very successful against Louisville and a couple of other teams we’ve played here in the preseason. We just struggled to find the basket tonight, and it’s certainly bigger than those two.”
To start the game, Alabama took a promising 7-2 lead despite Ole Miss taking the jump ball, but the promise was short-lived. Ole Miss overtook Alabama with a jumper from forward Kharyssa Richardson at 8-7, a lead that would last for the rest of the game.
Although Alabama faced a 14-point deficit at its lowest point, the team created a late-stage comeback in the fourth quarter, narrowing the margin to a 6-point game. However, as the clock ticked to less than two minutes, the Crimson Tide found itself with limited opportunities, and the Rebels further solidified their lead with two free throws and a layup.
The Crimson Tide fought, scoring points to mount a comeback, but the Rebels had a response for every advance. Adding to the challenge, Ole Miss accumulated 12 blocks throughout the game — more than double Alabama’s count, leaving Alabama without hope for recovery.
“I think it’s just about not giving up and trying to stay together and knowing that it’s a 40-minute game and the game isn’t over until the buzzer ends,” Barker said. “I think that’s what we were trying to do tonight. Obviously, we came up short, but you live and you learn, and you’re able to fix those mistakes. And with failure, you want to come out on top with just being better.”
Looking ahead, the Crimson Tide is set to face off against Missouri for its next game Sunday at 5 p.m. CT. Fans can catch all the action on the SEC Network.
