Alabama women’s basketball earned their second straight conference win with a 81-79 victory over the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station, Texas. The Crimson Tide have improved to 5-9 in conference play. 

The dynamic duo of guards Brittany Davis and Megan Abrams shone again Sunday evening. They combined for 58 of Alabama’s 81 points. 

Davis led the team in scoring with 32 points, most of which were scored in the second half and overtime. Abrams scored 27 points — her second straight game with 20 or more points.

Guard JaMya Mingo-Young also impacted the stat sheet Sunday afternoon. She had her fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Mingo-Young also had 2 steals and 4 assists. 

Texas A&M guard Qadashah Hoppie led the Aggies in scoring with 16 points. She was one of five Texas A&M players in double digits. 

Alabama was outrebounded 54-42 Sunday afternoon. However, the Crimson Tide once again took advantage of opponent turnovers. Alabama scored 14 points off of 19 turnovers from the Aggies. 

It didn’t start off great for Alabama. The Crimson Tide missed their first five buckets, which helped Texas A&M jump out to a quick 5-0 lead in the first quarter. 

Alabama responded midway through the first frame with a 6-0 run to take a slight 6-5 lead into the first media timeout. After that media timeout, it was all Texas A&M. 

The Aggies finished the quarter on an 11-6 run. Alabama trailed 15-12 going into the second quarter. 

Texas A&M continued to build their lead in the second quarter. The Aggies began the second frame outscoring Alabama 6-1, increasing their lead to 21-13. The Crimson Tide, then, started implementing different defensive looks to throw the Aggies off. 

“We were just trying to get them out of a rhythm and make them uncomfortable,” Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said. 

It didn’t work much during the second quarter as Texas A&M kept making shots. The Aggies pushed their lead out to 12 with 1:44 left. Abrams scored a layup and made a free throw to cut Texas A&M lead down to just 9 points at halftime. 

The second half picked up where the first left off: every bucket going in for Texas A&M. 

A turnover by forward Khyla Wade-Warren and a foul by Mingo-Young allowed Hoppie to score a 3-pointer. This pushed Texas A&M’s lead up to 12 points. Alabama quickly responded to the mistake with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit down to 4 points. 

Then, each team began trading buckets. What was once a defensive battle turned into an offensive chess match. By the end of the third quarter, Alabama only trailed by 1 point, 42-41. 

The Crimson Tide made their push in the fourth quarter. With five minutes left in regulation, Alabama had a 53-46 lead over the Aggies. Every shot was now falling for the Crimson Tide. 

The Aggies didn’t go away quietly, though. 

A 7-0 run by Texas A&M tied the game up with 3:43 left in regulation. Aggies guard Jordan Nixon led the charge defensively with a steal and a defensive rebound. 

Over the next 90 seconds of play, both teams traded buckets and the lead. A 3-pointer by Davis put Alabama up 63-59 with 30 seconds left in play. 

Texas A&M clawed back to tie it at 63 with 13 seconds left on the clock. A layup by Abrams seemed to be the dagger as Alabama went up 65-63 with one second left on the clock. 

However, Aggies head coach Gary Blair called a timeout. After the timeout, Texas A&M guard Kayla Wells found forward Aaliyah Patty for the layup, tying the game. The crowd at Reed Arena erupted and the Crimson Tide hung their heads. 

“We just tried to get them to stay positive and just encourage them,” Curry said. 

The Aggies carried that momentum from the fourth quarter and jumped out to a 70-65 lead with 2:21 left in the first overtime period. It took until near the end of the period, but Alabama found their groove. The Crimson Tide tied it at 72 with 47 seconds left. 

No team scored another point in the first overtime period. This game would need a second one to decide a victor. 

Both teams traded scores to start the second overtime. Another 3-pointer by Davis put the Crimson Tide up 80-78 with 1:14 to go in the period. Abrams was fouled and converted one free throw to go up 81-78. 

Nixon made a free throw with three seconds left to cut the lead to just 2 points. She missed the second, but Patty was there to clean up the rebound. 

Patty couldn’t finish at the rim and guard Hannah Barber was there to get the defensive board, sealing the win. 

“A hard-nosed, great team win,” Curry said. “We had so many people down the stretch step up and make play after play.” 

Alabama looks to continue their winning streak on Thursday against No. 11 LSU. Tipoff from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center is set for 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. 

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