Five Finish in Double Figures to Lead Alabama Women’s Basketball Past No. 14 Mississippi State
STARKVILLE, Miss. – All five of Alabama’s starters finished in double figures during an 86-78 victory at No. 14 Mississippi State on Thursday night.
Jordan Lewis led Alabama with 22 points, half of which came from the free-throw line. Megan Abrams had a dominant fourth quarter while scoring 11 of her 18 points, and Jasmine Walker netted 17 to go with 10 rebounds.
Hannah Barber chipped in 12 points and a game-high six assists, and Ariyah Copeland rounded out the group with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The Crimson Tide (11-1, 4-1 SEC) has won back-to-back games against the Bulldogs (8-3, 3-2 SEC) for the first time since the 2013 and 2014 seasons and recorded consecutive wins in Starkville for the first time since 1997 and 1999.
“I’m just really proud," Crimson Tide coach Kristy Curry said. "Tremendous character and toughness by our kids down the stretch to make plays on both sides of the ball. I thought that Jordan and Hannah in our back court really controlled the tempo. Great decisions. We were fortunate to get Jordan a couple looks. I thought we came out and established in the third quarter. Got Jas some looks around the rim.
"I’m just really proud of our effort. To have five in double figures. I thought there were two keys to winning. The first was to take care of the ball and have under 13 turnovers. We had 11. And you’ve got to rebound. You’ve got to at least stay even. To out-rebound them by 11 was just an effort category. I’m just really proud of our kids today in so many different areas. Great balance and great team effort.”
Alabama out-rebounded Mississippi State, 44-34, capitalizing on second-chance points, 21-10.
The Tide trailed the Bulldogs by one at the end of the opening quarter, however Alabama struggled shooting the ball in the second quarter, hitting two of its 16 attempts. At halftime, the Tide regrouped and scored 28 points in the third frame to close the gap. Alabama continued to outpace State, scoring nine more than the home Bulldogs in the final quarter for the comeback win.
Tide-bits:
- Alabama had five players score in double figures for the first time this season and first time since Feb. 18, 2020 against Georgia.
- Lewis had 20-plus points for the fourth time this season and 14th time in her career.
- Copeland and Walker recorded double-doubles for the third straight game together as they each had double-doubles against LSU and Vanderbilt.
- Alabama’s 86 points are the most it has scored in the series since a 92-86 victory over Mississippi State in 2002.
- The Tide took 11 more attempts from the free throw line than the Bulldogs (21-10).
- Alabama has won four of its first five SEC games for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
Alabama returns home to host No. 23 Tennessee on Sunday.
