Courtesy of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee tops Alabama Women’s Basketball on Buzzer-Beater
The Alabama women's basketball team had its five-game winning streak against Tennessee snapped in dramatic fashion Monday night.
After two free throws by senior Cierra Johnson gave the visiting Crimson Tide the lead, Rennia Davis' 30-foot prayer went in with .8 second left on the clock for the 65-63 victory.
“What a great game, but that was tough to lose,” Crimson Tide coach Kristy Curry said in a statement. “Our kids really fought and did what we asked them to do. I thought we missed a lot of shots and we had great shots, but sometimes when your shot doesn’t go in you let it affect you, but I thought our kids just kept believing and they played their guts out.
"I thought they deserved to win, we were just one stop away.”
Junior Jordan Lewis went over 1,000 points after scoring a team-high of 17 in the loss. for Alabama (11-7, 1-4 SEC) Lewis scored 12 of those 17 points in the fourth quarter on 5-of-7 shooting. Her two assists during the game pushed her to just two away from snagging the No. 8 spot on the Crimson Tide all-time career assists lists.
Junior Jasmine Walker finished the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double in Southeastern Conferences road contest this season and 10th of her career. Walker is averaging 17.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
No. 23 Tennessee (15-3, 5-1 SEC) started the game off with a 10-4 lead before jumping to a 13-8 advantage entering the second quarter.
Junior Ariyah Copeland made a layup with 32 seconds to go in the half, narrowing the margin to 24-17 in Tennessee’s favor.
Alabama scored more points in the third quarter than it managed in the entire first half. Sophomore De’Sha Benjamin hit a 3-pointer with 3:17 to go, tying the game at 33-33. The Lady Vols responded with back-to-back shots from beyond the arc, holding the 41-37 lead going into the final 10 minutes of play.
After Tennessee went on a 9-0 run, sophomore Megan Abrams drained a 3 with 2:08 remaining.
Alabama took its first lead of the night on a Lewis 3-pointer with 1:24 to go, making it 59-58.
Tennessee briefly retook the lead with 50 seconds on the clock before Johnson’s jumper in the paint put Alabama ahead again 61-60 with 39 seconds remaining.
The final 19 seconds of action consisted of each team trading free throws before Davis closed the game with a 3-pointer, 65-63.
Alabama will return to Coleman Coliseum for a three-game homestand starting Thursday against No. 15 Texas A&M. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT (SEC Network+).
