Alabama Women's Basketball Fends Off Georgia Comeback Effort in SEC Tournament, 74-62

Efficiency on offense and an aggressive game plan led the Crimson Tide to another SEC Tournament victory.

Author:
Clayton Connick
Publish date:
Mar 3, 2022 11:13 PM EST

Back in early January, Alabama women's basketball took a double digit lead into halftime in Athens, as the Crimson Tide was set to upset Georgia on their home floor. The Bulldogs ultimately stormed back to win, stunning Alabama and defending their ranked status.

Alabama was not going to let it happen again.

On day two of the SEC Tournament, No. 11 seed Alabama brought its best basketball to Bridgestone Arena, jumping out to a stout lead in the first half over No. 6 seed Georgia. The Crimson Tide was able to fend off the Bulldog comeback efforts, prevailing 74-62.

"Just loved our team's ability tonight to just go out and execute the game plan, thought our coaches really had us prepared," Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said postgame. "We just weathered their runs and stuck together.I think we learned a lot from the first game at Georgia, it was really similar.

"You could hear our kids talking going down the hallway at halftime, 'not again.' I just loved the grit and the toughness that our kids showed."

Alabama now advances to take on No. 3 seed Tennessee on Friday night with hope for a possible NCAA Tournament berth on the line.

The Crimson Tide began the game locked in on the defensive end, and Georgia seemed a little antsy to make plays. Alabama's pressure on the ball force 12 Georgia turnovers in the first half, and that turned into 16 Crimson Tide points on the other end.

Brittany Davis and Megan Abrams led the tidal wave of scoring for Alabama, as Davis posted a 13-point first quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs through the first period. The Crimson Tide was incredibly efficient through two quarters, shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 55.6 from three point range. Dominating on both sides of the floor, Alabama led 37-22 at the break.

Georgia entered the third quarter with a vengeance, trying to once again mount a huge comeback against the Crimson Tide. Alabama kept its game plan simple. Give Abrams the ball, get her a favorable matchup, and let her do the rest. Abrams seemed to score at will, but Georgia increased its effort as a team and limited its turnovers. The Bulldogs went on a 14-3 run, ultimately cutting the lead to 54-45 heading into the pivotal fourth quarter.

"We talked at halftime, we knew they were going to come out and really push early and often," Curry said. "I thought we did a really good job of adjusting some things at halftime with our transition defense and limiting them at the rim, making them play off two feet."

After not scoring in the third quarter, Davis returned to excellence on the offensive end to close the game. She scored 10 of Alabama's first 12 points in the fourth, as Alabama continued to be unbelievably efficient on offense. Ultimately, Georgia could not overcome the scoring from Davis and Abrams and Alabama's overall 47.3 percent shooting from the floor.

Davis finished the game with 26 points and 5 rebounds, and Abrams had 24 points with 7 boards. Special performance from the Crimson Tide guard duo, fighting for a chance to continue playing through March.

"We just wanted to limit our turnovers, push in transition, and make the catches hard, not give them easy shots," Abrams said. "We just wanted to execute the game plan and make sure we get stops because we know that we get buckets offensively."

Alabama shot 9-of-18 from beyond the arc, with the outside shooting supplementing the aggressiveness driving to the basket. Allie Craig Cruce contributed two clutch threes to go along with Davis' 5-of-6 performance from deep. All-around success on offense for the Crimson Tide on Thursday night.

Now, Alabama gets another chance to knock off Tennessee. The Crimson Tide has had the Lady Volunteers' number as of late, with the most recent game ending in Alabama's favor in mid-February. That game will tip-off at 8:30 p.m. CT on Friday night, and the Crimson Tide has some postseason hopes to play for now.