“The first 10 minutes of the game were extremely embarrassing and disappointing,” coach Kristy Curry said. “We’ve got to understand that we want to win games. We are here to win. We have to understand that we have got to put 40 minutes together.”
Alabama did not have its first field goal until 10 minutes into the game. Karyla Middlebrook hit a mid-range jumper to stop Vanderbilt’s 15-3 run.
Alabama then began to file away at the lead. Freshman Hannah Cook caught fire. She made three baskets in a row, with two of them being three-pointers. She continued to shoot well and finished 4-9, 3-6 from downtown. Her 11 points were second on the team.
Alabama’s defense came out strong in the second half. The Commodores hit 50 percent of their shots in the first half, but the Crimson Tide kept them to 19 field goal attempts in the second. Vanderbilt made eight of those shots. Vanderbilt’s leading scorer from the first half, Morgan Batey, was held to only two points in the second half after a 12-point first half. Alabama’s defense also forced 13 turnovers in the half.
“I just thought our energy was a lot higher, and our effort. We became more active on the defensive end, and that’s the kind of energy that we should have started the game with,” Middlebrook said.
Alabama split the SEC weekend. Thursday, Alabama ousted rival Auburn 51-50 on a game-winning block by Carter. Alabama was missing guard Breanna Hayden after Thursday’s controversial fight with Auburn. Hayden was ejected after throwing a punch at Hasina Muhammad.
Next on the slate for Alabama is a rematch with No. 1 South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. The game starts at 6 p.m. Thursday.
