No. 19 Alabama women’s basketball defeated Missouri 68-49 on Sunday without star guard Sarah Ashlee Barker, who is recovering from a lower leg injury she suffered last week versus Florida.
According to the team’s training staff, Barker is considered “day-to-day,” and she was seen wearing a walking boot on the sideline.
“You can’t replace Sarah Ashlee with an individual player,” head coach Kristy Curry said. “It’s got to be by committee, and what a committee it was today.”
Sophomore guard Diana Collins started in Barker’s place, and Curry said it would take time for Collins to fully adjust to the starting role.
“Diana is basically coming in here, not playing many minutes at all, so it’s kind of like a freshman season for her,” Curry said, adding that she is confident in Collins’ skill on both ends of the floor.
Guard Zaay Green scored Alabama’s first points of the game by driving to the rim for a layup.
On the next possession, forward Essence Cody found her way into the scoring column by converting on a second-chance layup, but her first-quarter playing time was cut short after she picked up two personal fouls.
Alabama did not play well offensively in the middle of the first quarter, and Missouri took advantage by jumping out to a 5-point lead at the three-minute mark. To close out the quarter, Alabama’s JeAnna Cunningham and Aaliyah Nye found a groove and went on a 9-0 run together to give the Crimson Tide a 15-11 lead.
Baskets were hard to find throughout the first half, and Alabama got most of its points at the free-throw line in the second quarter. The Tigers were called for seven personal fouls, and the Crimson Tide capitalized by making 11 free throws. Alabama led 32-20 at the end of the first half.
The Crimson Tide shot 30% from the field in the first half, 5% worse than Missouri, but won the turnover battle by eight.
Though Barker’s absence was felt on the floor in the first half of the game, Curry said the guard remained a vocal leader.
“I thought Sarah Ashlee was outstanding on the bench, outstanding in the locker room and outstanding in the huddles,” Curry said.
Green started the second half on a roll, converting two layups and a deep 3-pointer. She scored a total of 11 points in the third frame, and Nye hit a triple to add to Alabama’s lead.
Missouri did not have an answer to keep up. The Tigers shot 1/8 in the first five minutes of the third quarter, and the Crimson Tide led 50-31 with one quarter to go.
In the final quarter, Green continued to find open looks, scoring 5 points on Alabama’s first two possessions.
Collectively, the Crimson Tide continued to build on its lead by converting layups, making 3s and draining free throws, eventually coming out with a 19-point win and the team’s second conference victory of the season.
Green, Nye and Cody finished with 23, 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Curry said she is proud of her players’ performances but is even more pleased with guard Karly Weathers, who played tight defense and finished with 2 points and five rebounds.
“The player of the game is Karly. She had seven assists, consistently communicated and guarded their best shooter,” Curry said. “It may be a day that she doesn’t score as much as she normally can, but I thought she drew a lot of attention.”
Alabama’s next game will be on the road against No. 5 Texas, an in-conference showdown that will be broadcast on SEC Network+ on Thursday at 7 p.m.
