The reigning women’s basketball national champions entered Tuscaloosa on Thursday and will be geaux-ing back to the Bayou with a 78-58 victory over the Crimson Tide. This loss against the LSU Tigers leaves Alabama 2-3 in its SEC slate.
After both suffered losses earlier this week, with Alabama losing to Arkansas and LSU losing to Auburn, both teams came into this rivalry game with something to prove.
For the first half, neither team took a significant lead over the other, with lead changes coming too fast for the scoreboard to keep up. By the end of the third quarter, though, LSU held a 15-point lead the Crimson Tide was unable to conquer.
The game started with LSU taking possession, but guard Essence Cody quickly stole it for a layup to be made by guard Sarah Ashlee Barker to start scoring for the night. A layup made in return by LSU forward Angel Reese made the matchup even once again.
The rest of the first half continued this trend, with both teams going point for point and unable to take a real lead. But things took a turn for the worse for the Crimson Tide in the second half as LSU began to pull away in “the battle of wills,” as Alabama head coach Kristy Curry has called the matchup.
“As good as our first half was, our second half was even worse, the opposite direction,” Curry said. “We have to learn how to put four quarters together. I think the credit goes to LSU. They dominated the paint and dominated the glass in the third, and we weren’t able to recover from it. And we will continue to learn and grow and be better. I believe in this team. I believe in who we can become, and we can still accomplish every goal we have in place.”
The chants of “overrated” that blasted through Coleman Coliseum ceased as LSU started toward what would end as a 20-point lead for the Tigers, and the Crimson Tide’s 3-pointer percentage dropped to 25%.
Despite this being one of the team’s best games of SEC play, with guard Aaliyah Nye boasting 18 points and a 50% 3-pointer percentage, followed closely by guard Loyal McQueen, who had 15 points, it wasn’t enough for the Crimson Tide to take the lead or mount a comeback.
In fact, this fired-up first half by Nye is what LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson said kicked her into high gear.
“I was pissed that the girl [Nye] scored 18 points,” Johnson said. “She was on fire. I mean, I got to give credit to her. She’s an amazing shooter.”
This game was record-breaking for the Crimson Tide’s attendance, with 5,575 people in the stands. Although it’s easy to recognize the draw of watching the national champions, Curry implored all who were at Coleman on Thursday night to continue to show up for the team.
“We wish that was the way it was every single night,” Curry said. “I think this team, this program, deserves that credit. It’s LSU, I understand, but we play Kentucky on Jan. 28 at 4 p.m. We would love to have every one of those folks back in here to support this team because, again, they deserve it.”
The team will head to Auburn to take on a different group of Tigers this Sunday at 2 p.m. Fans can also stream the event on the SEC Network+.
