This article will be updated.

 

After a strong offensive showing, Alabama’s usually-sound defense was what let them down against Florida on Thursday.

 

With the loss, Alabama drops to fifth place in the SEC standings behind Ole Miss, setting the stage for a season-defining home game against the Rebels on senior night.

 

“When you score 77 you expect to win, but I think it was the turnovers and second chance points that kind of took a toll in the end,” said head coach Kristy Curry.

 

In the 81-77 loss, the Crimson Tide gave up 16 offensive rebounds to the Gators and lost the overall rebounding battle 35-30. Off of those second chance efforts, Florida scored 18 points.

 

“All five have to rebound on the defensive end. I gave everyone a score sheet, which I haven’t done… Just to understand how many boards that each one of them get,” Curry said.

 

Alabama also turned the ball over 20 times on the night compared to just 9 turnovers for Florida. The Gators scored 19 points off those mistakes.

 

The Tide sent Florida to the line 36 times over the course of the game, including 18 times in the fourth quarter alone. They would convert on 26 of those attempts. Comparatively, Alabama shot 21 free throws and made just 15 of them.

 

“They’re a really good team when they get to the free throw line. And we just consistently harped on it, stopped practice when there was a silly foul, trying to make the point the past two days,” Curry said.

 

“We’ve got to do a better job defending without fouling and putting people in the bonus so early.”

 

Brittany Davis led Alabama in scoring with 16 points, despite being held to just a single point in the first half. She also tallied 8 rebounds but committed 8 turnovers.

 

Aaliyah Nye also continued her strong play in the loss, scoring 15 points off five threes on the night.

 

Hannah Barber matched Nye with 15 points, including three triples.

 

Sarah Ashlee Barker rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Crimson Tide, scoring 10 points (4-7) in addition to a trio of steals and rebounds.

 

Abrams’ Continued Return

Megan Abrams played just 10 minutes against Gators, failing to score a point but recording 2 rebounds.

 

Up Next

Alabama will play their final game of the regular season at home against Ole Miss on Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. CT. It will be Senior Day for the Crimson Tide.

 

If Alabama wins, they will secure the fourth seed in the SEC and a double-bye in the SEC Tournament. Despite being tied in the standings (if Alabama was to win), Alabama would hold the season series tiebreaker 2-0.

 

Photo Credit to UA Athletics.

 

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