Bama Women's Hoops Defeats UT-San Antonio, 76-63
12/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala- Alabama junior guard Monique Bivins was like a ball magnet on Friday night grabbing a career high 19 rebounds in helping the Crimson Tide to a 76-63 victory over UT-San Antonio.
Bivins total was the fourth most ever by an Alabama player and the second highest single game total in Coleman Coliseum. Along with her strong work on the boards, Bivins also scored 11 points.
For the game, five Bama players finished in double digits led by freshman Navonda Moore's 19 points. Senior Manisha Redus scored 13 points on a perfect 4-for-4 (2-of-2 from three point range) shooting. Tawana Freeman and Dee Merriweather both scored 11 points in the win.
The victory improves Alabama's record to 4-1 on the young season while UTSA drops to 2-4. It was the second straight season that the Tide has defeated the Roadrunners.
Alabama grabbed a lead midway through the first half and seemed to have the game in hand in the second half, opening up a margin as large as 17 points with seven minutes remaining. However, UTSA refused to quit narrowing the Tide's lead to just four points with two minutes left in the contest. Alabama refused to fold, holding UTSA scoreless down the stretch and scoring the last nine points to earn the double-digit victory.
"I thought we did a really good job of getting the ball inside to people," Bama head coach Rick Moody said afterwards. "Unfortunately, we did not finish the plays that we need to finish if we are going to be a very good basketball team. I thought Monique (Bivins) showed real heart and desire by grabbing 19 rebounds. That is just a sign of somebody playing with great effort."
Bama connected on better than 48 percent of their second half shots, while UTSA could only manage 35 percent. The Tide turned the ball over just nine times on the night, while amassing 11 steals. Alabama owned the boards as well, pulling down 46 rebounds to UTSA's 33, including a 24-14 second half advantage.
Leading the Roadrunners in scoring was Dewella Holliday, who finished with 18 points on 6 of 19 shooting, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. Holliday also led UTSA in rebounding, pulling down 10 boards.
The Crimson Tide will try to extend its non-conference home winning streak to 54 straight games on Sunday when No. 23 Virginia Tech visits Coleman Coliseum for a 2 p.m. tip off.
