The Alabama Crimson Tide, after losing its first three Southeastern Conference match-ups versus Auburn, at Tennessee and at LSU, returned home to Coleman Coliseum to play the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Tide fell 82-66 to the Commodores, sliding to 0-4 in SEC play and falling to last place in the SEC West.
This loss marked the first time this season the Tide has lost with three or more players scoring in double digits. Senior Tierney Jenkins had 15 points and 11 rebounds, good for her 12th double-double of the year. Sophomore Celiscia Farmer and junior Erika Russell both had 10 points and two steals.
Head coach Wendell Hudson has preached playing a complete game and emphasizing the first five minutes of each half to the players all season long, and is ready to emphasize that further.
“We need to learn to finish a basketball game,” Hudson said. “We got to learn to play without getting frustrated over the little things that happen. I think a lot of that is the youth we have out there, playing so many young players.”
Those young players have lost a significant source of leadership to injury in Katie Hancock, who was injured in the LSU game and may miss a few more weeks.
“We miss Katie, without any question,” Hudson said. “She’s going to compete. We know what we can get out of her. I think we miss her dedication to competing, especially in practice.”
The game started out with potential to go down to the wire, with four ties and five lead changes in the first half alone. Neither team built a lead bigger than four points until a late Vanderbilt run gave them a five point lead with 1:59 remaining in the half, which it would hold until halftime, leading 39-34.
During the Tide’s most recent four-game losing streak, the start of the second half has been a recurring challenge. It was a slow start that doomed Alabama once again against the Commodores. In the first 3:46 of the second half, the Tide went 0-of-8 shooting and only scored one point from a Kaniesha Horn free throw, while Vanderbilt raced to a 13-point advantage.
These troubles continued well into the half, with the Tide shooting 2-of-15 from the field after 8:06 of action in the second half. With 11 minutes left, the Tide found themselves down 61-43, a lead that Vanderbilt preserved to the final score of 82-66.
A big part of the Commodores’ win was redshirt freshman Stephanie Holzer, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, well above her averages of 10.3 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per game.
Holzer’s defense had a major effect on Alabama’s offense, especially when she held Horn to eight points on 3-of-12 shooting and zero rebounds. Vanderbilt’s Jence Rhoads had a game-high 20 points and a game-high six assists as well.
With back-to-back home games coming up for the Tide, Jenkins is stressing the need to re-focus and emphasize the mental aspect of basketball.
“I think we just keep having mental lapses,” Jenkins said. “Our mindset wasn’t focused on competing.”
Jenkins remained optimistic for the future of SEC play, looking forward to righting the ship of second-half shooting.
“As soon as we mentally fix things, things will turn around,” she said. “We’re resilient. We’re not going to give up.”
