The Alabama women’s basketball team defeated the Stillman Tigers Monday night 94-39 in its lone exhibition game of the season.
Junior guard Shafontaye Myers scored Alabama’s first two points off of a layup after a steal, as the Tide went on to rack up 27 steals and score 51 points off turnovers.
Head coach Wendell Hudson and the Tide credit much of the team’s success to defense and depth.
“I thought we played really hard as a basketball team,” Hudson said. “We played a lot of different combinations of people, which has been fun to have a lot of different combinations of people to play… From a defensive standpoint that doesn’t show up in the stats. We took Stillman and made them play the way we wanted them to play.”
Every player on the Alabama roster scored. Myers led the way with 15 points. Senior Jessica Merritt scored 12 points while fellow senior Celiscia Farmer scored seven points, racked up five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“I think we did pretty good,” guard Daisha Simmons said. “We still got a lot to work on, a lot to learn. It’s only the first game. I think we have to get in much better shape because we want to play at a faster pace.”
“We have a lot more depth this year,” Horn said. “We’re a little bit small, so we want to play fast, so we’ll be pretty good.”
Fans got to see players who were not eligible to play last year due to NCAA transfer rules. Guard Dashia Simmons and forward Briana Hutchen played their first games in Alabama jerseys after transferring from Rutgers University, along with guard Brittany Jack who came from Samford University.
This was the first game back for redshirt sophomore Kaneisha Horn who sat out last season after an ACL injury and surgery. Horn showed the crowd why see was mentioned among the best of her class in the Southeastern Conference during her freshman year with her strong rebounding, exciting ball handling and inside-outside scoring.
“I’m very excited,” Horn said. “I sat out for a long time, so I’m very excited about being back and hopefully I can contribute to the team for us to make it to the tournament this year.”
“I thought [Horn] played pretty good,” Hudson said. “She’s got to get in game shape, but she made some great offensive moves, rebounding the basketball and did some things defensively that didn’t show up in the stats. I’m glad she’s back out there playing.”
Every Alabama player dressed out and played except Meghan Perkins, who sat out due to injury. The Tide will have its first regular season game against Jacksonville State on Nov. 11 at Foster Auditorium. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.
