Alabama Women's Basketball Responds in Big Way After LSU Loss
After being on the wrong end of a 38-point loss at home to the No. 4 team in the nation, the Alabama women’s basketball team knew it had to find some spark in order to win at No. 24 Arkansas. .
it did, and from the usual players.
Brittany Davis scored 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting, and Hannah Barber came up big in the late stages of the game, hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer with just eight seconds left before stealing the ball to seal the 69-66 win.
"We spend a lot of time in the gym shooting, so when we get the chance in the game, [the coaches] have been telling us to be ready to shoot." Barber said.
The win propelled Alabama to fourth in the SEC standings, ahead of Arkansas and a half game back of Ole Miss.
With LSU, South Carolina, and Tennessee pulling away from the field, the fourth spot is now the goal for "the rest" in the conference.
That fourth spot means a double-bye in the 2023 SEC Tournament, and would obviously help Alabama’s chances of making the NCAA field.
The win also showed how resilient this Crimson Tide team is. This game was, by all means, crucial. A road test sandwiched in-between two top-five matchups in Tuscaloosa, meant that Alabama needed this one.
"This is a huge road win against a really good team," Crimson Tide coach Kristy Curry said. "Our kids’ response to Monday night was incredible, their preparation, toughness, and character was gritty."
Alabama got contributions from all aeras of the court. It out-rebounded Arkansas in a tight battle.
The Crimson Tide dealt with some foul trouble by all five of the starters, and shot the ball with a 50 percent mark from the field.
A key area that Alabama dominated was steals, with the Crimson Tide having 14 compared to Arkansas' nine.
"We talked about being resilient and continuing to fight each possession," Barber said, "There were times in which we had to respond and we did, we stepped up to the challenge." she added.
Alabama will have to prepare to face the reigning national champions. No. 1 South Carolina almost looks unstoppable at 20-0, and just crushed this same Arkansas team by nearly 50 points.
