Alabama women’s basketball earned vengeance Sunday afternoon in Coleman Coliseum, beating Auburn 67-61 thanks to a fourth-quarter rally.
Guard Sarah Ashlee Barker was on fire with a game-high 26 points, matching guard Jessica Timmons in Alabama’s last meeting with the Tigers. Barker also earned her spot in the 1,000-point club after a 7-point first quarter, but for her, the moment was nothing more than fate.
“I lost my grandmother three years ago, Feb. 6, and today’s actually her birthday. And so, February is a really hard month for me. And I was 7 points away from 1,000 today,” Barker said. “I got SEC Player of the Week the day my Nanni died. Those two days, Feb. 6 and Feb. 18, are not a coincidence. That’s just about trusting God, and that’s all it is.”
Alabama started scoring for the afternoon with a layup by forward Essence Cody but was quickly matched by a jump shot by Auburn guard JaMya Mingo-Young.
Alabama managed to pull away in the first quarter, leading by as many as 7 points despite some back and forth.
But going into the third quarter, Alabama led by only 3, and after an almost two-minute scoring drought, Auburn came back with two shots, a jumper by guard Honesty Scott-Grayson and a 3-pointer by guard Sydney Shaw, to claim the lead.
By the end of the third quarter, Auburn had amassed a 10-point lead over the Crimson Tide, and the crowd of Tigers fans in the stands were certain that victory was theirs. As the seconds wound down in the fourth quarter, many Alabama fans seemed sure of it, too.
But for the first time this season, Alabama made a comeback despite trailing with less than five minutes left in the game, thanks to a layup by Barker. Alabama held Auburn to only 9 points in the fourth quarter but managed 25 of its own.
“I think the LSU game was really our test, and the reason that we were able to come back in this game was because we really got tested at LSU, and we felt like we were separating,” Alabama guard Aaliyah Nye said. “I think today we had that same opportunity to either come together or separate. And today, we came together, and we fought.”
As the score ramped up in favor of Alabama, the crowd did as well. Auburn fans began exiting Coleman Coliseum as it started vibrating with Crimson Tide fans’ cheers.
Two 3-pointers by Nye, a layup by Timmons and two free throws by Barker sealed Auburn’s losing fate and cued the start to “Rammer Jammer” from the Million Dollar Band.
But not before head coach Kristy Curry got on the mic to thank everyone in the crowd for their help in defeating the Auburn Tigers, and Barker took the stage to very confidently announce to the crowd her intention to beat No. 1 South Carolina on Thursday.
“We had a 5-point lead and I said I’m going to need a mic,” Curry said. “We just appreciate our crowd from the bottom of our hearts because these kids work every single day to deserve people in the stands.”
The team will travel to South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks on Wednesday at 6 p.m. CT. The matchup can also be streamed on SEC Network.
