The No. 19 Alabama women’s basketball team lost its first game of the season on the road against the California Golden Bears 69-65 Thursday in the ACC/SEC challenge.
“These games are great learning opportunities. We’ll learn from it and move on,” head coach Kristy Curry said. “Cal’s a really good team and a veteran team, and I thought there were a lot of positives tonight that we can take away.”
Alabama guard Zaay Green gave the Crimson Tide its first basket of the game by laying the ball in after a bounce pass from forward Essence Cody.
Both teams’ baskets were limited in the first 10 minutes of play. The Crimson Tide and the Golden Bears played strong defense and contested every shot closely.
Alabama shot 25% from the field in the first quarter and missed all seven shots from behind the arc.
Green and Cody were responsible for all of Alabama’s scoring in the first quarter. The duo logged double-doubles in the Crimson Tide’s blowout victory against Georgia State and rode that wave of momentum into the ACC/SEC Challenge.
Green created shots through tight defense, scoring 6 points, and Cody continued to showcase her versatility as a scorer by making two layups off of post moves and draining three free throws.
“I cannot be any prouder of Essence. She went against a veteran in the paint,” Curry said, referring to Cal center Ugonne Onyiah. “She really handled it tonight and is really growing up. Near double-double on the road against a veteran post player that has a lot of size and physicality.”
Despite those two scoring performances early in the game, Cal closed out the quarter leading 14-13. This is the first time this season that Alabama has trailed at the conclusion of the opening quarter.
Green and Cody reached another gear in the second quarter. The tandem led Alabama on a 9-2 run to give the Crimson Tide a 22-16 advantage near the six-minute mark.
Freshman guard Eris Lester subbed in for Alabama after Cal called timeout, and she drove right to the rim for a quick bucket.
Cal’s offensive drought lasted four minutes until guard Lulu Twidale broke the dry spell by sinking a free throw. This sparked an 8-2 run for the Golden Bears, cutting the Crimson Tide lead down to 32-26 at the half.
Alabama’s veteran guards Sarah Ashlee Barker and Aaliyah Nye were held to a combined 2 points in the first half, but the Golden Bears had no answer for Green and Cody as they finished the half with 13 points each.
Green continued to drive past the Cal defenders in the third quarter, scoring two layups in the first three minutes. Nye and Barker hit a layup in the first three minutes of the quarter, but the Golden Bears responded with inside buckets of their own every time the Crimson Tide scored.
Cal forward Marta Suárez caught fire and scored 10 points in the third. She ignited an 11-0 run, and Cal led by as much as 6 points in the quarter.
Barker ended the run by drawing a foul and hitting two free throws at the foul line, scoring Alabama’s first points since the seven-minute mark of the third quarter.
The Crimson Tide went six minutes without a made field goal until guard Karly Weathers drained a 3-pointer to cut Cal’s lead to three, but Cal guard Kayla Williams responded immediately with a 3-pointer of her own to put her team in front by 6 points again.
Green followed up by scoring consecutive layups to cut the deficit to a one possession game; however, Cody picked up her fourth personal foul of the game with 0.7 remaining in the third quarter, opening the door for Williams to hit two free throws to give Cal a 54-50 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
“Essence has to play without the foul. That was really tough there with 0.7 in the third, but again, it comes down to the perimeter [defenders] keeping the ball in front. It’s collectively just some things that we’ve got to do better,” Curry said.
Curry benched Cody at the start of the fourth quarter because she was in foul trouble.
Alabama’s Green and Weathers hit back-to-back shots from downtown to reclaim the lead. This prompted Cal to call a timeout to return to the drawing board.
The Golden Bears got the ball to guard Ioanna Krimili, who was fouled on a made 3-pointer. She made the free throw to convert on the 4-point play.
Cal followed this up with Williams and Suárez each scoring a bucket inside. The Crimson Tide went over three minutes without a basket before Green again found her way to the rim for a layup.
Alabama trailed Cal 66-62 with one minute remaining in the game. A split pair of free throws from forward Christabel Ezumah and a score from Green couldn’t make up for Cal’s free throws off of intentional fouls, and the game ended 69-65. It is the Crimson Tide’s first loss of the season, bringing the team to 9-1.
“We didn’t guard the 3-ball how we were supposed to, especially coming out of the third quarter,” Green said. “There were a lot of shots we didn’t make that we should have made, so a lot of it was on us, and we’re just gonna learn and keep moving.”
Green finished the game with 28 points on 13/25 shooting. Alabama outrebounded Cal and won the turnover battle, but the team shot an uncharacteristically low 24% from behind the arc, which was 11% worse than the Golden Bears.
Alabama will head home to Coleman Coliseum on Dec. 15 to play Murray State. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ at 2 p.m. CT.
