TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Several long scoring droughts led to Alabama’s first loss of the season against the University of South Florida Wednesday night, 67-59.

 

Kristy Curry’s squad went scoreless for nearly seven minutes to end the third quarter and struggled throughout the night to find consistent point production on the road.

 

One large part of that problem was a rough outing from the Tide’s leading scorer Brittany Davis.

 

“Brit had one of those nights that she very rarely has,” Curry said.

 

Davis scored just five points (1-9 FG), after entering the game averaging 25 points over the first two contests.

 

And while Alabama had several players step up offensively, such as JaMya Mingo-Young (14 points) and Hannah Barber (11 points), the Tide’s offensive issues also stemmed from the opposite side of the floor.

 

“We just missed some shots,” Curry said. “You have the combination of not rebounding the ball and then the [problem with] transition defense and you can’t come back and counter with some makes.”

 

Alabama allowed 19 fastbreak points, while being outrebounded 46-30 in the loss.

 

Those defensive struggles came in spite of accomplishing a key defensive goal against the Bulls: shutting down #32.

 

South Florida’s leading scorer Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu entered the night averaging 21 points on an unbelievable 71.8% from the field, yet the Tide held her to just 8 points thanks to the paint presence of Jada Rice.

Despite this, two other South Florida players were able put up 20+ point performances to make up for her scoring.

 

Curry believes that this kind of early challenge, in an “amazing” road environment, will be beneficial for her team in the long run.

 

“I told the team, look, we can either take an easy route in November, or we can put ourselves in a position that’s a real challenge and that we have an opportunity to grow from,” Curry said.

 

Injury Report

Freshman Karly Weathers remains out with what Curry called a “broken bone” in her left hand. Her timeline for return is unknown.

Up Next

Alabama will head to the Bahamas to compete in the Pink Flamingo Championship. They’ll open the tournament against Utah on Nov. 21. Tip is set for 1:30 p.m. CT.

 

PHOTO CREDIT TO @USFWBB ON TWITTER.

 

Follow Nicholas Pursley on Twitter @nicholaspursley for 24/7 coverage of Alabama Women’s Basketball.