?The Crimson Tide women’s basketball team let the Auburn rivalry fuel it to victory over the Tigers 61-51 on Thursday night. Alabama’s Shafontaye Myers helped the Tide win its second SEC conference game scoring 23points.
?The Tide, 2-4 in conference, shut out the Tigers after a close call in the second half. With 11:54 remaining in the second half, Alabama barely led Auburn 32-31but shortly began scoring 19 points within a span of 4 minutes. The Tide then continued to take the court by storm not letting the Tigers shoot any points.
?“From the beginning of the game, I thought they were doing what we asked them to do,” Coach Wendell Hudson said. “We were playing really well defensively. They did have a couple of offensive rebounds but they did a really great job.”
?This win over Auburn doesn’t just add fuel to the fire; it also became a career record for Myers who scored 23 points. Of those 23 points, Myers racked up 7 three-pointers. Her teammate Jasmine Robinson, junior, scored 13 points for the Tide.
? Senior Meghan Perkins also contributed to the scoreboard by adding 11 points of her own and 9 rebounds. Sophomore Daisha Simmons helped boost Alabama’s score by 8 points.
?Though the Auburn/Alabama game is mostly noted for the rivalry, though the team didn’t feel that way towards the game.
?“It feels good [to win over Auburn] but to me, and to all of us, it’s just regular game,” Robinson said. “We want to come out here and win all of them if we can. It’s just a regular game.”
?At the start of the game, the Tigers took off leaving Alabama behind but motivation helped Alabama catch back up leaving the Tigers in the dust at halftime with a score of 30-20. After a close call, the Tide completed the second half subsequently diminishing Auburn’s hopes of catching up instead of have a 10 point gap.
?The Tide had a shot percentage of 29.7 percent and 51 rebounds compared to Auburn’s 48. Alabama had nine three-point goals spiking it up the scoreboard where as Auburn attempted to get a three-point goal but didn’t succeed.
?This success brings Alabama to a record of 12-7 and a conference record of 2-4. The Tide will play Vanderbilt on Sunday, Jan. 27 hoping to get another conference win at home.
