The Alabama women’s basketball team returned to Coleman Coliseum on Thursday for a midweek exhibition matchup with the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers. 

Fueled by effective shooting, bench play and defense, the Crimson Tide defeated the Chargers 87-41. 

The Chargers led 2-1 with just over eight minutes left in the first quarter. They held that lead for a mere 15 seconds. 

The Crimson Tide went on a 16-0 scoring run to go up 17-2. Senior guard Hannah Barber hit two 3-pointers during that run. Sophomore guard JaMya Mingo-Young was effective in the paint during this run as well. She scored four points off of layups. 

“I make it a point for me to use my speed to get paint touches,” Mingo-Young said after the game. “Not necessarily to go in there and score, but if I have an opportunity to go score when I crack the paint. It just opens up a lot more for our offense.” 

Alabama finished the game with 42 points in the paint. Mingo-Young finished the night with 13 points and seven rebounds. 

The Crimson Tide led 26-10 at the end of the first quarter. That gap was too much for the Chargers to overcome. Alabama outscored UAH in every quarter. 

The Chargers couldn’t find an answer for any of the lineups Alabama had on the floor. 

Their dominant performance didn’t just come from the starters. Alabama’s bench had 37 of Alabama’s 87 total points. The Chargers had just 10 bench points. 

Junior guard Nia Daniel was the top bench performer. Daniel scored 19 points and had eight total rebounds. Sophomore guard Myra Gordon was also effective off the bench with nine points and five rebounds. 

Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said getting the bench players in-game experience is what the team wants to do heading into the season. 

“You got some kids that have played and a couple transfers, but honestly, their role is so much more,” Curry said. “For them to play the amount of minutes [they did] in a game environment is brand-new for them as well. We just need time on the floor in a game environment.”

Despite the lack of experience, Curry likes what she has seen from the team so far. 

“I like this team, I like who they’re trying to be,” Curry said. “The depth, the size, the versatility.” 

Having size throughout the lineup helped the Crimson Tide a lot on Thursday. Alabama finished with nine steals and nine blocks. Alabama also had 54 rebounds, with 37 of them being defensive rebounds. 

Playing aggressively on defense helped the Crimson Tide in transition. Alabama scored 21 fastbreak points. The Chargers scored one. 

After a dominant finish to their preseason, Alabama looks to the regular season. The Crimson Tide will host the Charleston-Southern Buccaneers for the season opener. 

The game will be held in Coleman Coliseum, with tipoff set at 5 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.