The conference season has been up and down for Alabama women’s basketball. The Crimson Tide was riding a two-game win streak into Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Thursday night.  

Alabama came crashing down and fell to the LSU Tigers 58-50 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. 

The Crimson Tide is now 5-10 in conference play. 

With this loss, Alabama has a losing record away from Coleman Coliseum for the first time since the 2018-2019 season. 

The guards stepped up once again. Megan Abrams, Brittany Davis and Hannah Barber combined for 45 of the Crimson Tide’s 50 points. Abrams led the Crimson Tide in scoring with 16 points. 

Barber had her 35th consecutive game where she made at least one 3-pointer, which is now the longest active streak in the SEC. 

LSU guard Khayla Pointer lit the scoreboard up and led the Tigers with 23 points. Pointer made 10 from 2-point range. 

Alabama was the better team from downtown, shooting 35.5% from 3-point range. LSU only shot 22.2% from downtown but made up for it scoring 36 inside the paint. 

Alabama was held to just 12 points in the paint, including some point-blank misses from center Jada Rice. 

“We’re in the SEC, and we got to make layups,” Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said. “Down the stretch, we really struggled to finish, and that’s something that we have to continue to work on.” 

From wire to wire, LSU had complete control of the game. Two free throws from Abrams gave the Crimson Tide an early 2-0 advantage, but the Tigers roared back. LSU scored 8 unanswered buckets to take the lead halfway through the first quarter. 

Barber ended the near five minute long scoring drought with a jumpshot to cut the Tigers’ lead to four. Alabama made back-to-back threes late in the first but still trailed at the end of the first frame. 

The game became a slugfest in the second frame. Both teams scored 7 points in the second quarter, but LSU increased its 6 point first frame lead to a 12 point halftime lead. 

The Crimson Tide are no strangers to comeback victories. Alabama came back from a double-digit deficit at halftime against Texas A&M on Sunday. 

Unlike Sunday, LSU didn’t relinquish control of the game. 

Despite two 3-pointers from Abrams and Davis at the start of the second half, LSU tightened its grip on the lead. Pointer scored 6 points in the opening two minutes. This helped give the Tigers a 37-23 lead. 

Curry called a timeout, and whatever she said in the huddle lit a fire in the Crimson Tide. 

Alabama outscored LSU 15-7 to close out the third frame. The Crimson Tide trailed by just 5 points heading into the final ten minutes of action. 

Abrams and Davis helped Alabama within one possession but that’s as close as the Crimson Tide would get. 

The Tigers narrowly outscored Alabama 15-12 in the final quarter. Mistakes down the stretch — including four turnovers — from the Crimson Tide proved costly. 

“You credit LSU and you move forward,” Curry said. “We’ll have to go home and get ready for Vanderbilt, it’s our senior day. We need to respond.” 

The season finale for the Crimson Tide will be at Coleman Coliseum as Alabama will host the Vanderbilt Commodores on Sunday, Feb. 27. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.