The Alabama women’s basketball team (17-10, 5-9 SEC) achieved redemption on Monday when it beat the Auburn Tigers (15-13, 5-9 SEC), 63-61, at Auburn Arena. The Crimson Tide lost the first match up with the Tigers in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Alabama junior Hannah Cook was responsible for scoring the winning basket with only six seconds remaining in overtime. This was the first Crimson Tide victory against the Auburn Tigers since Feb. 17, 2011 when Alabama won, 59-51.
“That was just flat out toughness and character,” Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said in a press release. “In every huddle I loved our leadership. I thought some of our kids really grew up in front of us tonight with their leadership qualities. And Hannah Cook. What can you say? To have a double-double rebounding the ball 13 times and to make a play there at the end was fitting for the night.”
The Crimson Tide took the lead in the first six minutes of the game when they put seven unanswered points on the board. Alabama continued to fight for the lead in the second period and maintained it at 27-25 by halftime.
The two teams traded basket over the first six minutes of the third, but a 6-0 run over the final three minutes for the Tigers gave Auburn a five-point edge, 43-38, with one quarter remaining.
Alabama had an 11-0 run that put it ahead by five with 4:04 remaining in the game. The Tigers took the lead again with 1:07 left when Auburn’s Janiah McKay made a free throw. Cook was able to even the score 53-53 on the next possession, which sent the game into overtime.
Alabama scored the first five points of the extra period, but the Tigers responded with the next five to tie the game for the ninth time. There were two more ties and two more lead changes down the stretch before Cook nailed her game-winning shot.
Alabama finished the game with 24 turnovers and 56 rebounds while Auburn had only 12 turnovers and 36 rebounds. Alabama also made 26 percent of its three-pointers, while Auburn only made 14 percent. Cook finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Juniors Quanetria Bolton and Meoshonti Knight had 13 points and 10 points, respectively. Freshman Jordan Lewis also finished the game with double-digit points (12).
Auburn was led by McKay, who had 29 points and senior Katie Frerking, who had 16.
Alabama’s next game will be it’s final road game of the 2016-17 regular season. The Crimson Tide will travel to Athens, Ga. to play the Georgia Lady Bulldogs (14-13, 6-8) on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. in Stegeman Coliseum.
