Alabama Athletics
Alabama Women's Basketball Claims First Victory of the Season
Senior Cierra Johnson scored 21 points as Alabama pulled out a 67-54 road victory over Clemson inside Littlejohn Coliseum on Tuesday night.
This win marked the first victory of the 2019-20 season for the Crimson Tide (1-1).
It was Johnson's seventh 20-plus game of her Alabama career. The guard also locked in eight rebounds and six steals while shooting 7-of-10 from the floor
Johnson was one steal away from tying her career-high set last year in Georgia.
Junior Jasmine Walker contributed with 11 of 13 points in the second half, when Alabama pulled away.
Junior Ariyah Copeland chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds. She's averaging 10.5 points through two games.
Alabama forced Clemson into 27 turnovers which led to 39 points. It dominated the glass, including 26 offensive rebounds that were converted into 20 second-chance points. Alabama also went 15-of-21 at the free throw line while Clemson was just 3-of-12.
“We stayed positive and we were being aggressive,” Crimson Tide coach Kristy Curry said in a release. “We had some great looks early on and they just weren’t going down, but we just stayed the course. Sometimes our kids are their own worst enemy and sometimes they try too hard, but I told them to keep shooting the ball and stay positive.
"We wanted to be aggressive and we did that by forcing 27 turnovers and having 26 offensive boards, that’s incredible from our group.”
Alabama started off slowly, fall behind 12-6.
Johnson sparked the second quarter with 13 points, with Alabama leading 32-24 at the half.
Sophomore De’Sha Benjamin came up with a steal and converted a layup, which put Alabama up 44-29 with five minutes to go in the third. The Crimson Tide held the 49-40 lead going into the fourth despite the Tigers outscoring it 11-5.
The final quarter was marked with a 9-1 run, which extended the lead 58-41. The Crimson Tide held a double-digit lead until it closed the game 67-54.
The Crimson Tide will return home on Sunday to take on Mercer inside Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
