The spirits of Alabama women’s basketball past smiled on the team today as the Crimson Tide dominated the Kentucky Wildcats in a 91-74 win in Coleman Coliseum during the team’s annual alumni night.
This win ended the team’s three-game losing streak and gave Alabama its first home win during conference play. Despite these triumphs, head coach Kristy Curry doesn’t discriminate where the team wins games, as long as it stays winning.
“Yes, I understand that we haven’t won an SEC game at home in Coleman,” Curry said, “but it’s been more the focus of let’s just win the next game regardless of where it’s at.”
Guard Sarah Ashlee Barker scored a career-high 34 points in this game, more than doubling the next-highest scorer, guard Aaliyah Nye. Barker went 12-18 in field goals, sometimes even throwing herself to the ground to get the layup.
She also went 9-9 on free throws, her highest since the team’s game against Alabama State in early November.
Alongside Barker, many other Alabama players stepped up in this game, including freshman forward Essence Cody, who, despite being only halfway through her first season of SEC play, beat out senior forward Ajae Petty with 12 more points and four free throws compared with Petty’s zero.
However, Barker won’t let the team accept credit for the win and gives all the credit to Curry.
“When we do the things that the coaches ask us to do, we can be a great team. When we go against it, we’re not a great team,” Barker said. “Those losses are on us players. And I know Kristy is the first person to ever take the blame, but I just want everybody to know that she’s done everything in her power to get us to this point and to be able to win games.”
Despite the Crimson Tide’s 17-point win, the game started back and forth. Petty’s fast-break layup started Kentucky’s scoring for the night. A layup by Barker quickly matched this, but for Petty, this point exchange would mark the end of her scoring for the night, but just the beginning for Barker.
“Sarah Ashlee Barker, tough, physical. She scored 21 in the first half,” Kentucky head coach Kyra Elzy said. “But I thought her physicality and toughness really drove them today, and I thought they were relentless on the boards.”
Kentucky did take a 6-point lead early in the game. Still, the Crimson Tide was quickly able to squash it with a last-second buzzer-beater by guard Loyal McQueen to end the first quarter, three layups by Barker, and four free throws by Barker and Nye to start the second to make the score lean in Alabama’s favor at 26-24.
Alabama stayed in the lead for the rest of the game, but Kentucky made multiple small-time comebacks to tie the game. Still, Alabama ultimately ran away, with a 27-point deficit at its largest.
Alabama will travel to Arkansas for a rematch against the Razorbacks on Thursday at 8 p.m. CT. The game can also be streamed on the SEC Network.
