No. 19 Alabama women’s basketball started out well in SEC play, defeating Florida 79-69 on Thursday to move to 14-1 overall on the season.
“It’s a brand new season, and I can’t say enough about how important it is to start out 1-0 in this league,” head coach Kristy Curry said. “I’m really proud of our kids tonight. A lot of people stepped up.”
Despite the win, the Crimson Tide received bad news on the injury front. The team’s leading scorer for the season in Sarah Ashlee Barker suffered a leg injury in the game and didn’t return. Curry said post-game that the severity of the injury is unknown and that the team will find out more later.
Alabama started the game hot, making eight of its first nine shots from the field and jumping out to a 19-5 lead. Barker and guards Zaay Green and Aaliyah Nye led the run, each making multiple shots.
After Alabama’s offense cooled off, the Gators responded with a 7-0 run. Alabama guard Diana Collins made the last shot of the quarter for either team, giving the Crimson Tide a comfortable 21-12 lead.
The teams scored back-and-forth to start the second quarter, but disaster struck for the Crimson Tide at the 7:07 mark when Barker went down with her leg injury and had to be helped off the court. Florida took advantage of the opportunity to gain momentum and went on a 6-0 run to narrow the Alabama lead to 41-35.
The Crimson Tide responded with a 9-2 run that was anchored by Green, who scored 6 points during the stretch. Collins again made the last shot of the quarter, and it put Alabama up 41-31 heading into halftime.
At the 6:43 mark in the third quarter, the Crimson Tide began to take over the game, going on an 11-0 run with Green once again leading the way with 8 consecutive points. She then stole the ball from Gators forward Alexia Mobley, which led to a possession ending with an easy layup for center Je’Anna Cunningham.
After Florida responded with 6 points to cut the Alabama lead to 60-46, Green dished out an assist to forward Essence Cody to pad the lead before the end of the period. Green scored or assisted on 13 of the team’s 21 points in the quarter.
Florida tried to stage a comeback in the final quarter but fell short. Green and Collins combined for 14 points in the fourth to help the Crimson Tide complete the victory.
Green finished with a team-high 27 points on 12/22 shooting and a team-high six assists with only three turnovers.
“It is unbelievable to coach and watch her as much as I have and see how she really shares the basketball,” Curry said of Green. “It’s really made us better. She does a great job of recognizing the floor, and it’s a lot of fun to watch.”
Cody finished just 1 point shy of a double-double with 9 points and 11 rebounds, while Collins finished with a career-high 12 points off the bench and shot 4-4 from the floor while playing a season-high 28 minutes due to Barker’s injury.
“It’s important to just stay ready,” Collins said, adding that she and her teammates wait until their names are called to enter the game so they can “do work for the team.”
Alabama will stay in Coleman Coliseum for its next SEC matchup against Missouri on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT. The game can be watched on SEC Network+.
