Alabama Women's Basketball Aims for More in Record-Setting Win at Kentucky
It wasn't just a win. It was a record-setting road win for the University of Alabama women's basketball team on Thursday night.
Specifically, the 72-65 victory at Kentucky was the fifth straight regular-season road win in Southeastern Conference play, something the Crimson Tide had never managed to do before.
However, the way Alabama pulled it off was almost as impressive as the record.
Midway through the second quarter, the Wildcats held an 11-point advantage and were dominating an Alabama offense that could just not score.
The visiting Crimson Tide then went on a 16-7 run to close out the half, including five 3-pointers, to cut the Wildcats' lead to 33-31.
"I just tell them to keep shooting it, and make sure it was the best shot," Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said after the game. "We're not gonna miss for long, that's the confidence that I tell them."
A big part of that turnaround was the play of Aaliyah Nye and Karly Weathers, with the freshman Weathers scoring six points in the second quarter and finishing with 10 overall.
"She just work really hard getting shots up every day," Curry said about Weathers.
Nye was big in the second half, scoring 13 of her 16 points after the break. She was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and hit a few big shots in the fourth quarter to help seal the game for the Crimson Tide.
"We've been working hard on telling her to shoot it," Curry said. "She's been passing up some open looks, but boy was she good tonight."
This run of five straight road wins highlights how resilient this Crimson Tide team has become. Alabama has been in some tough games of late, coming back this time against Kentucky (10-13, 2-9 SEC), and needing a big second half against Missouri to get the win in Colombia.
In both of these wins, Alabama needed a surge and was able to produce one, exploding on offense to seal a victory.
Brittany Davis went for a career-high 33 points in Missouri, and Thursday night it was the likes of Nye, Weathers, Hannah Barber alongside Davis that got Alabama (18-6, 7-4 SEC) out of a drought.
During moments where Kentucky was trying to get back into the game, those four players seemed to hit a shot or force a turnover to give Alabama the momentum right back.
Consequently, Alabama has moved up into fifth place in the SEC standings, and is being projected as an 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament next month.
Next up for the Crimson Tide is a rivalry game against Auburn in Coleman Coliseum Sunday afternoon.
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Alabama Women's Basketball Wins on the Road at Kentucky, 72-65
