No. 19 Alabama women’s basketball wrapped up SEC play with a 10-6 record, and finished 6th in the conference. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the Crimson Tide during SEC play.
The good
The 3-point shooting. Usually in basketball, the mark of an “elite” three-point shooter falls around 40%. The fact that the Crimson Tide as a team shot 40.2% from 3 during conference play — which led the nation in that span — is nothing short of remarkable.
Guard Aaliyah Nye has been the centerpiece of the 3-point barrage, as she shot an otherworldly 45.9% from downtown during conference play and set the Alabama record for 3s in a game when she drained nine against Florida.
Guard Sarah Ashlee Barker has also found success from downtown, draining 41.7% of her 3s when she came back from injury. Guard Zaay Green also contributed with a 38% clip, and guard Diana Collins shot 42.9% from beyond the arc.
The team has also had some rather notable stretches from downtown, including a three-game stretch against Florida, Mississippi State and Texas A&M during which the group shot over 50% from 3-point range in each game. Curry credited the group’s strong work ethic as a driving force.
“We shoot a lot. Our kids are always sending texts like, ‘Hey, can you come in early’ and shooting early,” Curry said. “It’s the time that they put in, so it’s really a credit to our kids. Our system and style of play, you gotta love it because we want you to shoot the first open shot.”
Finishing strong. Arguably the lowest point of the Crimson Tide’s season up to this point was when the team lost back-to-back games — the only time all season — to Vanderbilt and Kentucky, and was 4-4 in conference play.
But over the next six games, the team rallied to go 6-2, including a memorable marquee win over LSU. The only two losses were on the road in close games against ranked teams Tennessee and Oklahoma.
The Crimson Tide had great success on both sides of the ball. During the stretch, the team shot 50% from the field and held opponents to 39%. When Green was asked if the Crimson Tide were playing its best basketball yet, she said, “For sure.”
Win over LSU. In both matchups last season, the Crimson Tide built strong halftime leads against the Tigers but fell apart in the second half and lost both games. This time around, the team was able to finish the job and finally beat LSU 88-85.
The win moved Alabama to a projected No. 4 seed in ESPN’s bracketology, meaning the team would play at home for its first two games of March Madness, something it hasn’t done in the 21st century.
The bad
Lack of bench production. It’s well-known how effective the starting five of Barker, Green, guard Karly Weathers, Nye and forward Essence Cody is. But one thing the team could use more heading into postseason play is bench production.
The bench has not been present enough in conference play, with Collins being the only player to average more than 3 points a game. Thus, the starting lineup has a stranglehold on available minutes, with four of the five players averaging more than 34 a game.
The team’s lack of non-starting five production has cost it crucial games, especially in the loss against Tennessee. Although each member of the starting five scored double digits, the group off the bench scored only 5 points and committed four turnovers, which put the starters in a hole that they couldn’t quite climb out of.
“Just being really candid, we need better bench play,” Curry said after the game. “You’ve got to compete, and we had some miscues off our bench.”
The ugly
The free throw line. The struggles with free throws, both getting to the line and converting those chances, have been about the only thorn in the team’s offensive play.
Alabama ranked last in the conference in both free throw attempts and makes, shooting a 69.1% clip on 14.8 shots.
Perhaps the biggest example of how the free throw struggles can backfire is the Crimson Tide’s 91-84 loss against Oklahoma. The team shot only 14 times at the line compared to a whopping 31 attempts for the Sooners, which was the main difference between Alabama winning and losing that game.
As the team preps for the SEC Tournament, Curry wants to see better success getting to the line and being tough.
“We’ve got to do a better job of eliminating any softness and being passive from our end,” Curry said. “It’s the time of year where we have to be at our best, and have an aggressive and attack mentality.”
Alabama will play in the SEC Tournament on Thursday against either Florida or Auburn at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game can be watched on the SEC Network.
