TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Fresh to start the spring semester comes a win from the Alabama women’s basketball team. The Tide cruised to victory against Georgia, ending in a final score of 81-63.
In a game that was a back-and-forth matchup until the second half, Alabama got off to a slow start after not being able to hit their first five shot attempts. However luckily for the Tide, the team found a momentum boost in freshman Essence Cody.
Cody, who was the No. 22 ranked recruit in this year’s class, found herself having a career game in her home state of Georgia. The freshman quickly got Alabama on the board, scoring the first seven points for the Tide. From then on, it became evident Alabama used Cody’s hot hand to stay in the game due to Georgia’s hot start.
Adding to her impressive night, Cody scored 12 straight points without missing a shot and finished with 16 points while adding 8 rebounds and three blocks. However, it wasn’t until the bottom of the second quarter that Alabama was able to take advantage of Cody’s dominance and take the lead into halftime with a score of 36-35.
The second half was a tale of two halves. What seemed like it was going to be a close game until the very end turned out to be a blowout thanks to Sarah Ashlee Barker. Although the team’s leading scorer struggled in the first half, the former lady bulldog quickly turned it around in the second, scoring 14 out of her 22 points and finishing the game with 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Aaliyah Nye also had a huge part to play in the win, contributing 15 points that all came beyond the arc. Nye, who shot 50% from three and also leads the team and conference in three-point FG, also surpassed 1,000 career points on the night.
“Tonight was a great team effort. The toughness we displayed in the third and fourth quarters, we just had so many players step up and make plays. The way we rebounded the ball and how [Loyal McQueen] came out in the second half and just really controlled the tempo. I thought [Karly Weathers] came in and gave us great minutes, but just love the toughness throughout the course of the game. We stayed together, stayed connected, and I’m just really proud of how we finished the game tonight,” said head coach Kristy Curry.
Alabama shot 48.3% (28-58) from the floor, 55% (11-20) from beyond the arc, and 77.8% (14-18) from the charity stripe, while in comparison, Georgia shot 43.3% (26-60) from the field, 25% (2-8) from deep, and 64% (9-14) from the free-throw line.
With the win, the Tide move to 15-3, breaking the team’s best start to a season since the 2016-17 campaign where the Tide started 14-3–also under Kristy Curry. Alabama returns to Coleman Coliseum Sunday, Jan. 14, welcoming Arkansas, with tipoff at 2 p.m. CST on SEC Network.
Jaylon Brooks is WVUA-FM’s senior women’s basketball writer. You can follow him on X @JaylonBrooksUA.
