Alabama Women's Basketball's Offense Falters in Second Half as Davis Goes Quiet
It's not normal that Brittany Davis has an off night.
Unfortunately for Alabama, she had one on Wednesday and it led to its first defeat of the season as South Florida handed the Crimson Tide a 67-59 loss in Tampa, Fla.
Davis — a preseason All-SEC first team selection — was Alabama's leading scorer heading into Wednesday night's game averaging an astounding 25 points per contest through the Crimson Tide's two games thus far. Against USF, she garnered a mere five points.
"Brittany [Davis] had one of those nights that she very rarely has," Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said.
Davis' first points didn't come until there were seven minutes left in the third quarter. For the game, she shot 1-for-9 from the field and 0-for-5 from the 3-point line. She was obviously frustrated with her lack of production, which led to some ill-advised shots in the fourth quarter that could have been considered forced.
When a team's leading scorer can't get it going from the field, it's important for other players to step up to help carry the scoring load. For much of the first half, that player was junior guard JaMya Mingo-Young, who scored 11 in the first half on a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc.
Mingo-Young was stifled in the second half, though, scoring just three points.
Senior point guard Hannah Barber was Alabama's second leading scorer with 11 in the game, but much like Mingo-Young, she only scored three in the second half as well.
"I thought we had some other people [step up]," Curry said. "I thought Aaliyah [Nye] and JaMya [Mingo-Young] try to step up and help us. But I thought we struggled in some other spots to have some point production."
The Crimson Tide offense endured a five minute scoring drought over the middle of the third quarter which allowed the Bulls to regain and extend their lead, outscoring Alabama 21-9 in the quarter.
"I thought we allowed their physicality to really affect us," Curry said. "They pushed us off our path and we missed some shots."
In addition to the lack of individual players being able to step up to carry the load, Alabama as a team shot the ball much worse in the second half compared to the first. With Mingo-Young and Barber as the primary catalysts, the team was an impressive 50 percent from downtown in the first half on 12 attempts. The second half was a different story, recording only three makes on the team's next 12 attempts.
Davis is a great player, but Alabama will struggle if she is the only consistent producer offensively throughout the course of the season. However, the Crimson Tide has built a very talented roster with pieces capable of picking up that slack, it just has to continue to mold and blend as the season goes on and players settle into their roles.
Next up, Alabama will travel to the Bahamas for the Pink Flamingo Championship. The Crimson Tide's first game will be against Utah on Monday, with a 1:30 p.m. CT tipoff.
See Also:
Alabama Women's Basketball Drops First Game of the Season at USF
Alabama Women's Basketball Beats Tulane, Moves to 2-0 on Season
Alabama Women's Basketball Wins Season Opener over Alabama A&M, 98-51
Alabama Women's Basketball: 2022-23 Season Preview
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