The No. 22-ranked Alabama women’s basketball team played back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday. The Crimson Tide won both and remains undefeated.
“I think it’s hard to play back-to-back days when you haven’t done it all year. We obviously have six new faces, so the design of that was to try and put them in this position,” head coach Kristy Curry said.
Wednesday vs. Norfolk State
Norfolk State entered Wednesday’s game against Alabama coming off a victory over Missouri.
The game did not begin with a tipoff. Instead, it began with an administrative technical foul assessed to Norfolk State, which sent Alabama guard Aaliyah Nye to the foul line, where she split the pair.
Curry said Norfolk State had the wrong jersey number in the scorebook, leading to the administrative technical foul.
Norfolk State responded by holding Alabama to its lowest-scoring first half of the season, only allowing 37 points.
The Spartans opened the second half with a 3-point barrage, going 5/6 from downtown in the first five minutes. Spartans guard Niya Fields was responsible for three of these shots and jumped on the board with 9 points.
Alabama’s offensive performance was subpar, but the team made up for it on the defensive end.
Alabama changed up its defensive identity by using a mix of full-court pressing, trapping as the ball was brought up the floor and playing zone defense. This change contributed to the Crimson Tide causing 17 turnovers and blocking 12 shots.
“I’m not sure we are at the level we need to be at when pressing, but certainly when we can force a team into their half-court offense with 17 or 18 seconds on the clock, it’s a lot easier to guard them,” Curry said.
Sophomore Essence Cody led Alabama’s block party, swatting five shots to tie her career high. Graduate student Sarah Ashlee Barker joined in on the fun by setting a new career high in blocks with four.
“I think we both just stepped up to protect the rim at all costs and were in the right spot at the right time,” Barker said. “We wish we could have recovered some of those blocks, but I think we were playing help defense and we did what we were supposed to do.”
Despite its successes with guarding, Alabama did not have an answer for Norfolk State forward Kierra Wheeler. Because she was in the five spot, the Crimson Tide slacked off with its defensive coverage when she was at the 3-point line. She finished the game with 19 points and 60% from downtown.
“We gave them too many 3s and gave it up to someone that was shooting 50-plus percent, so we need to work on communication, finding tendencies and other little things,” Curry said.
The Spartans went on a run that cut Alabama’s lead to 6 at one point in the final quarter, but the team kept committing fouls, sending the Crimson Tide to the free throw line and halting the momentum.
In the closing minute, Nye hit a 3-pointer, ultimately ending the game. The Crimson Tide defeated the Spartans 68-58.
Alabama leaned on the starting lineup for the majority of the game. Four of Alabama’s starters played 34 or more minutes. Barker and Nye played 38 minutes against Norfolk State, 2 minutes shy of playing the entire game.
Thursday vs. Alcorn State
Alcorn State came to Tuscaloosa to try to take advantage of Alabama’s short turnaround, but the Crimson Tide showcased its resilience.
Nye caught fire in the first quarter and shot 3/3 from behind the arc, boosting the Crimson Tide to a 13-point lead.
Alabama turned to the bench early in the game, bringing in guards Eris Lester and Diana Collins as well as forward Christabel Ezumah.
Alcorn State struggled to defend with discipline in the first half. The Lady Braves were called for 14 personal fouls and gave Alabama 17 free throw attempts, but the Crimson Tide shot 52.9% at the foul line.
“Our perimeter did a good job tonight, but our post players have to improve the free throws,” Curry said. “We’re very happy about how many times we got to the line, but we have to get there and convert. It’s toughness. It’s grit. All of these kids have stepped to the line in the past and made two free throws. It’s simple. They’re free.”
Despite missing nearly half of those free throws, Alabama continued to battle and find ways to get to the rim.
Cody, Barker and Nye combined for 36 points in the first half and continued their dominance in the third quarter. Cody owned the paint for the second night in a row, leading the team in scoring with 18 points and blocking four shots.
Alabama maintained a 20-plus-point lead throughout the second half, and Curry rested her starters in the fourth quarter to make up for the minutes they had played the previous night.
Lester took advantage of her opportunity to play and scored 15 points, the third-highest on the team.
“I think the thing with all freshmen is the game is so much faster. You’ve got so much that’s so different, and it’s a transition. I think that the more our young kids can continue to work, practice, grow and then get in a game situation, that’s the only way they’re going to get better,” Curry said.
The Crimson Tide held the Lady Braves under 15 points in every quarter but the third and won 88-59 to improve to 5-0 on the season.
Alabama’s next game is on the road against Louisiana-Monroe on Sunday. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. CT.
