Alabama Women's Basketball Shows Second Half Strength in Win over Missouri
The Alabama women's basketball grabbed its fourth consecutive road win over Missouri on Sunday, 76-69, and what made this one stand out was the turnaround that the Crimson Tide displayed after halftime.
A Brittany Davis layup at the buzzer sent Alabama into the break down three points, after being down as many as nine in the second quarter. While it seemed like a nice play to end the half, it turned out to be something bigger than that.
"The message was we needed to defend better," Crimson Tide coach Kristy Curry said. "We were just letting them dictate the tempo."
Alabama opened the second half with a 7-0 run to take the lead. Most of the points were from the inside or the free-throw line. Alabama was able to grab control of the game and set the tempo, ending the third quarter up 51-47.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-fourth affair, but Alabama was happy to trade baskets with the Tigers to get the win.
Brittany Davis scored a career high 33 points, with 23 coming in the second half.
"It was great to see her have a big day, our team did a great job to get her the ball." Curry said.
Alabama was able to control this game by not giving Missouri many free looks in the second half. After a 10-turnover first half, Alabama cut that to five in the second half.
On the offensive side, Alabama shot significantly better in the second half, with a 56 percent mark from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range. The Crimson Tide scored 49 points in the half, compared to just 27 in the first.
This offensive explosion was set up by Davis, as she grew into the game, which lead Missouri to leave some other players open for good looks. Hannah Barber and Aaliyah Nye both scored 10 points in the second half, and Barber hit a couple of big 3s when Missouri was trying to claw back into the game.
"We had so many people make big plays," said Curry, "our kids were all over the place just trying to make plays."
The game matched the turnaround of these two teams since their last meeting in Tuscaloosa a month ago on Jan. 5. When Missouri came out with a narrow 66-65 victory, it seemed like Alabama could slip and fall down the SEC pecking order.
However, the Crimson Tide has been able to notch four straight road wins and gone 5-2 overall since then. During the same stretch, Missouri has gone 1-7, including a six- game loosing streak.
Consequently, Alabama is still firmly in the discussion for an NCAA tournament bid.
See Also:
Brittany Davis Scores Career-High 33 Points as Alabama Women's Basketball Defeats Missouri, 76-69
No. 4 Alabama Downs Pesky LSU 79-69 in Baton Rouge
Gymnastics Instant Analysis: No. 11 Alabama 197.850, No. 6 Auburn 197.700
