Women’s basketball celebrated guard Jessica Timmons’s 21st birthday in style with an 86-70 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks, avenging its Jan. 14 loss.
In a season first for the Crimson Tide, guard Sarah Ashlee Barker scored over 20 points in two consecutive games after scoring 34 points in the team’s last game against Kentucky and 25 points against the Razorbacks. She also collected two consecutive doubles, a season first as well.
“I think S.A. [Barker] has really matured a lot with the ball in her hands and away from the ball … letting the game come to her,” head coach Kristy Curry said. “I mean, if she’s not SEC Player of the Week this week, something’s wrong. She didn’t get it last week, and it’s a travesty … but at some point, the kid needs some respect.”
Alongside Barker, guard Karly Weathers also stepped up her game. After stepping off the bench, the sophomore dominated, snagging a season-high 16 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for the Crimson Tide.
“I’ve been struggling behind the arc for the majority of the season, but I have awesome teammates and an awesome staff that continue to build my confidence and tell me, ‘Keep shooting the ball. Keep shooting the ball,’” Weathers said. “Kudos to my teammates. They’re the ones that found me, and if I don’t have a pass, I can’t hit a shot. And so I’m just grateful for the team around me.”
Although Arkansas took the jump ball, a missed 3-point attempt by Arkansas guard Saylor Poffenbarger and a defensive rebound by Barker led the way for Barker to score her first 3-pointer of the game and start scoring for the Crimson Tide.
But Alabama didn’t celebrate too soon, as a similar fate had unfolded in the team’s previous 59-77 loss to Arkansas. In that game, Alabama took an 11-point lead that was blown by the Razorbacks’ comeback to an 18-point lead in the second half.
History repeated as Arkansas rallied with a 12-0 scoring run in the fourth quarter. Despite the pressure, the Crimson Tide held on to a 9-point lead. Alabama regained momentum as Barker made two consecutive layups, helping to catapult the team to a 16-point lead to seal the game.
This is largely due to the team’s rebounding improvement; one of its primary concerns after its last loss to the Razorbacks was its inability to rebound efficiently, with nearly 20 fewer than Arkansas. But the team beat them out this game, going 42-36, something Barker credits to her coaches.
“I think that’s our goal every single night. Who’s going to be the toughest team? Who’s going to outrebound the other team?” Barker said. “Just having coaches push us every single night and understanding that what we did last game was not who we are, and when we play who we are, we play great basketball. And when we listen to the coach’s scout plans and that kind of stuff, we’re a really good basketball team.”
The team will stay on the road and head to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt on Monday at 6 p.m. CT. The game can also be streamed on the SEC Network.
