After Tough Start, Alabama Shows Toughness in Southern Miss Win
Alabama couldn't shoot the ball during the first quarter against Southern Miss on Sunday, as it started the game 3-for-8, with two 3s and a pair of free throws. Consequently, it was down early on, and by four points at the end of the first quarter.
It was a long road back, with the Crimson Tide eventually pulling out the 56-47 road victory.
"It's hard to get a transition game going when you can't get stops," Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said.
However, in the second quarter, Alabama picked it up, scoring 16 points thanks to a 13-2 run, where it shot 50 percent from the field, and a 3-for-9 mark from 3-point range to take a 32-27 lead into halftime.
"I thought we did a much better job getting in transition and getting baskets," Curry added.
Brittany Davis continued to shine for Alabama, scoring 15 of Alabama's 18 third-quarter points and the Crimson Tide never looked. It finished off the nine-point win after a slow fourth quarter.
"We have so many different weapons, you have to play great team defense against us, and somebody is going to be open and make plays, and Brittany was able to do that," Curry added.
Alabama learned a couple of things with the win, the first that it can be a team that struggles without hitting 3s.
The other was that this team is gritty and tough to stop even on bad nights, and all-around deep enough to give opponents trouble without the likes of Brittany Davis.
"We tell our players, take the open shot ... our team was able to find her open," Curry said. "Credit to the team for getting the ugly win after finals, to get this win was important."
The Crimson Tide's defense was a major key in the win, and even though it did not establish the normal full-court press defense, the Eagles still found it very hard to score, shooting just 37 percent from the field.
The Eagles couldn't break down Alabama after the first quarter.
Once it stopped the inside penetration, Southern Miss was not able to score efficiently and the Crimson Tide rode that effort to the end of the game.
The fourth quarter was where the defense really shined, allowing just 10 points and holding Southern Miss to 3-for-15 shooting and no 3s off six attempts.
"Really good teams find a way to win when teams are trying to shorten possessions, and while it wasn't our best day overall but I'm really proud for finding a way to win," added Curry.
Alabama will host Little Rock on Dec. 15 in Tuscaloosa to try and get its sixth straight win.
