TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After a disappointing loss against the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Tide looked to get back on the road to victory against the defending national champions LSU Tigers. The highly anticipated matchup did not disappoint – in a way. With a final score of 78-58, the Alabama Crimson Tide fell to the No. 10 ranked Tigers.

Playing to the tune of a sold out Coleman Coliseum, the Tide came out strong in hopes of setting the tone early. Defensively, the Tide looked to cut off passing lanes, and limit inside the paint opportunities for LSU. Offensively, Alabama found their rhythm thanks to the help of an energetic home crowd and senior AAliyah Nye.

Nye, who is the newest member of the 1,000 points club, was the player of the night for the Tide as she set a season high 18 points in the first half alone. Nye, who shot 6-14 (42%) from the field, and shot 4-8 (50%) behind the arc, was the heartbeat for the Alabama offense. Alongside Loyal McQueen who finished the game with 15 points, helped create momentum that would give the Tide the lead through the first two quarters. However despite the eight ties and nine lead changes, the Tigers needed no extra motivation as they reminded everyone why they are national defending champions.

Very similar to the Golden State Warriors dynasty, LSU flipped the switch at the start of the third quarter. By result, ending in a 26-10 scoring run and slowly silencing the home crowd. This partly due to Alabama being outrebounded 53-37 in total, 25 out of the 53 being offensive. Angel Reese, starting forward for the Tigers, came away with 11 offensive rebounds compared to the Tide’s 13 total as a team. Alabama’s struggles on the glass continue to be an area of concern as the Tide were outrebounded by the Razorbacks 52-35 in their following matchup. Worthy to note, Alabama has been outrebounded in all five of their losses.

AAliyah Nye, the Tide’s heartbeat, would also not go on to score in the second half. With such a hot start, it seems like LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson would go on to take the matchup personally.

“I was pissed that the girl (Nye) scored 18 points. She was on fire. You gotta give credit to her. She’s an amazing shooter. Most of the time she shot the ball, my hand was right there in her pocket. But she just has a good feel and a good touch.” said Johnson.

After shooting 40.7% in the first half, the Tiger managed to limit the Tide to only 16% in the second.

“As good as our first half was, our second half was even worse, the opposite direction,” said head coach Kristy Curry.

“We have to learn how to put four quarters together. Credit goes to LSU, they dominated the paint and dominated the glass in the third quarter and we weren’t able to recover from it. We will continue to learn and grow and better. I believe in this team. I believe in who we can become and every goal that we have in place can be accomplished.”

Although the game did not end the way she would have wanted, Kristy Curry was able to show appreciation for the 5,575 fans in attendance – a new record for Alabama Women’s Basketball.

“I want to end by saying how much I appreciate the crowd. Thank you for supporting our program! Obviously, we wish that was the way it was every single night and I think that this team deserves it. We play Kentucky at home on Jan. 28 at 4 p.m, and we would love to have every one of those fans back…”

In the meantime, Alabama will go on to play in-state rival Auburn inside Nevill Arena in Auburn, Ala. 2 p.m on SEC Network+.

 

Jaylon Brooks serves as WVUA-FM’s senior women’s basketball writer. You can follow him on X @jaylonbrooksua.