TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Coming off of 3 straight SEC victories, No. 18 Alabama dominated the Texas A&M Aggies on both sides of the ball Monday night to stretch their streak to 4 in a row. The Crimson Tide were in control throughout the entire game and won 88-49 on their home court.
Alabama came right out of the gates with a whole lot of intensity and were on fire in the first quarter. The Tide dominated in the opening period, outsourcing the Aggies 27-8. Alabama was 10-15 from the field, and hit 5 three pointers in the first quarter. Sarah Ashlee Barker was the main catalyst in the Tide’s strong start, scoring 9 in the first quarter.
The Crimson Tide’s defence suffocated the Aggie offense from start to finish tonight. Texas A&M was only able to muster a measly 16 points in the first half. Alabama held the Aggies to 28% from the field in the first half, and Texas A&M was unable to get a single three pointer to fall out of their seven attempts. The Crimson Tide also forced 9 first half turnovers and outrebounded the Aggies 19-14.
“The press really worked tonight. Every time we got into our 12 press it worked a lot,” said Zaay Green, who had 3 blocks tonight. “It brought a lot of energy on the defensive end which converted to the offensive end.”
Sarah Ashlee Barker and Aaliyah Nye both had extremely efficient performances yet again tonight, combining for 27 first half points on a combined 10-12 from the field. Barker finished with 18 points, and Nye added 16 points.
Nye had this to say postgame on how good the blowout win felt for her.
“It feels good. I mean, last time we had a bye week, we didn’t come out the way that we wanted to. So we really made it a focus and emphasis on coming out the right way and playing Alabama basketball.”
Younger players Leah Brooks, Eris Lester, Chloe Spreen, and Diana Collins played valuable minutes off the bench for the Crimson Tide in tonight’s win. Coach Curry loves to bring in her younger players to get them experience in meaningful SEC games, and is really proud of how this group of younger players has bought into her process.
“I just think it’s important to think about the process when you’re in a young position,” Curry said postgame. “They have a great opportunity to learn and grow and get better every single day and when we can reward them with minutes, they’re very important to our success.
Alabama’s four straight SEC wins have all come by 15 points or more. The Crimson Tide find themselves in fifth place in the SEC with a conference record of 8-4. The Tide’s remaining 4 games include three ranked opponents and a huge rivalry game against the Auburn Tigers. Alabama is coming into this stretch with a lot of confidence, but they’ll need to be at their best to finish the regular season strong.
“Again we’re not looking ahead, we’re not looking back, we’re just trying to be better than we were yesterday,” said Curry.
The Tide are back in action on the road against No. 15 Tennessee on Thursday. The top 20 SEC matchup tips at 5:30 p.m.
