Alabama Women's Basketball Falls to No. 16 Arkansas, 94-76
Ariyah Copeland's ninth double-double of the season was not enough for Alabama women's basketball to overcome the hot three-point shooting from No. 16 Arkansas on Sunday night.
The Razorbacks made a Southeastern Conference-record 19 three pointers, including 14 in the first half, en route to a 94-76 win over Alabama in Bud Walton Arena.
Copeland had 18 points and 13 rebounds.
"You just have to credit them today. They shot the ball really well," Alabama coach Kristy Curry said. "Very similar to our senior day where their seniors played great. We got a good win on our senior day, and they got one as well."
Behind the three-point shooting deluge, Arkansas built up to a 20-point lead in the first half. Alabama showed some of the same resilience from the Texas A&M game to cut into the large deficit by opening the second half on an 8-0 run.
A Hannah Barber layup cut the Arkansas lead to 67-63 with 7:56 left in the game, but the Razorbacks ended the game on a 27-13 run mainly led by Amber Ramirez.
Ramirez made seven first half three pointers. The Alabama defense held her in check in the beginning of the second half, as she did not score in the third quarter. However, Ramirez had 12 fourth quarter points as part of the Arkansas run to close out the game.
Alabama finished its regular season 15-8 overall, 8-8 SEC. The Crimson Tide was one of only two programs in the SEC to play all 16 conference games.
"To be one of two teams that have gotten to play every game shows the commitment and sacrifice of everybody around the program to stay in a really, really strong bubble," Curry said.
With the loss, the Crimson Tide was seeded seventh in the 2021 SEC Tournament, set to be played in Greenville, S.C., this week. Alabama will face the 10-seeded Missouri on Thursday. The winner will face South Carolina.
"It's a brand new season and that's what this time of year is about and just be the best version of you," Curry said. "Let's represent the front of the jerseys as we had to Greenville, and we know where it's one and done right now. And so the opportunity to go be the best version of us is what we need to focus on."
