By: Robert Sellers

TUSCALOOSA, Ala – The Crimson Tide fell to the Vanderbilt Commodores 66-64 on Sunday afternoon in a thrilling SEC battle. The Tide led by 7 in the first half, but struggled offensively in the second half, leading to an impressive comeback win for the Commodores.

Sarah Ashlee Barker returned from her five game absence due to an ankle injury today and absolutely exploded. A small brace on Barker’s left ankle didn’t slow her down at all, as Barker dropped a career high 36 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. Barker put the Tide on her back on both sides of the ball, also snatching 4 steals and 6 defensive rebounds. 

Barker was an astounding 15-21 from the field as well as 3-5 from beyond the arc. As incredibly efficient Barker was today, she was equally clutch. Barker hit two big threes late in the 4th quarter to keep Alabama in the fight, and served as the main catalyst towards the Crimson Tide’s offensive efforts late in the game.

“I don’t really care about my career high, to be honest,” said Sarah Ashlee Barker after the game. “I mean it doesn’t really matter. Scored 36, Oh well. What really matters is the score.”

The Tide shot an efficient 53.8% in the first half, and held the Commodores to just 33.3%, but the wheels fell off the bus in the third quarter, as Alabama was only able to put up 7 points. Alabama climbed back in the 4th quarter, but ultimately fell short after a few extremely clutch buckets from Vanderbilt point guard Mikayla Blakes, who finished with 33 points. 

Coach Kristy Curry praised Blakes’ performance after the game.

“She’s just a baller. She wants to make plays. She’s fearless. We were trying to limit her touches and credit her energy and effort getting open and wanting the ball,” she said.

Alabama struggled with turnovers all night, finishing the night with 23 compared to Vanderbilt’s 14. The Commodores played fantastic defense, snatching a whopping 17 steals, but some of the Alabama turnovers were mental errors and simple mistakes.

“I think, you know, we have to come out and be more aggressive,” said Coach Curry when asked about turnovers. “I thought we did a really poor job being aggressive, settling for early shots, and they found a way to be more aggressive.”

Sarah Ashlee Barker was questionable to return today, but played 39 out of the possible 40 minutes for the Crimson Tide and looked 100% throughout the entire game. Barker did have a small brace on her left ankle, but she was as athletic and explosive as ever during her 39 minutes. 

“Yeah it feels good,” Barker said when asked about her ankle. “I have a great athletic trainer who worked with me for three and a half weeks, and we busted our butts off to try and get me back as quick as we could.”

Alabama returns to action Thursday Night at 6:00 pm central in Lexington, KY to take on the Kentucky Wildcats.