Women's Basketball Snaps Losing Streak in Starkville Thriller
2/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sunday, February 12, 2006
BOX SCORE
STARKVILLE, Miss. ?? Any road win in the SEC is an occasion to celebrate, but Alabama's victory over Mississippi State in Starkville this afternoon was especially sweet.
The Tide snapped several losing streaks in thrilling fashion, as Lauren Hill's follow-up lay-in off of a miss by Navonda Moore with :04.3 seconds remaining gave Alabama its first road win of the season.
"We just wanted to get Navonda isolated on the wing with some shooters on the perimeter," Tide head coach Stephany Smith said. "She got a good shot and missed it, but thankfully Lauren was in the right place to grab the rebound and put it back in."
That certainly wasn't the only streak snapped today, as the win ended several frustrating losing spans for the Tide. Before Hill's dramatic putback, Alabama's last road victory in the league came on Jan. 26, 2003 at Ole Miss, a span of 23 games. The Tide's last road win of any nature came on Dec. 11, 2004 against Tennessee Tech, a 17-game stretch. And last but not least, the victory ended the seven-game losing streak of the 2005-06 season.
"Talk about a monkey off of our backs," Smith said. "I had heard way too much about that streak and it is just good to get it over with."
The win also gave Smith her first road victory on the sidelines for Alabama after losing her first nine attempts.
It took a monumental turnaround in the second half to even give the Tide a chance to earn the milestone victory. Alabama's offense never seemed to get started in the first half, as the Tide notched just a single assist while handing over 15 turnovers to Mississippi State.
Alabama shot just 25.9 percent and surrendered 10 second-chance points to the Lady Bulldogs. Even though MSU shot just 34.4 percent from the field and failed to convert on nine three-point attempts, the Tide still trailed by 10 points at the half.
"I felt like we showed very little emotion or heart in the first half," Smith said. "I was not at all happy with the way we fought in the first 20 minutes."
Thankfully for Smith, her Tide team came out inspired in the second half and pulled themselves within striking distance in the last 10 minutes of play.
Leah Drury's steal sparked a fast-break converted by Kate Mastin, who was fouled at the 5:39 mark. Mastin converted the tradition three-point play, allowing Alabama to knot the score for the first time in the game.
Mastin knocked down two key free throws at the 2:41 mark and Dee Merriweather's contested lay-up with 1:50 remaining gave the Tide a two-point lead.
Doceide Warren, one of three MSU players with 12 points in the game, scored MSU's final hoop with 12 seconds to play to knot the score at 59.
With 12 seconds remaining, Alabama was able to get an isolation play on the wing for Moore, who missed a shot from the right block, one of just four misses from the field in the second half for Moore, who went 0-for-8 in the first half.
Hill then made the play that ended three years of frustration for Alabama, as the junior from New Orleans swooped in from the left block, grabbed the rebound and put it back in off the glass to give the Tide a two-point lead with four seconds left to play.
Warren's last-gasp trey attempt fell short and the jubilant Alabama players raced to a road locker room victorious for the first time in three years.
Merriweather, a senior who has been through much of the aforementioned losing streak, played one of her best games of the season to give the Tide the road win. She tallied her second straight double-double and the ninth of her career with 12 points to go with 14 rebounds. She also converted two key free throws and tallied a key steal in the waning minutes for the Tide.
Moore tallied her fifth-straight game in double figures in the scoring column after a subpar first half. Moore went scoreless in the first 20 minutes, but went 4-of-8 from the field to finish with 12 points in the game.
Mastin chipped in with 11 points and went 4-of-5 from the charity stripe for the Tide.
Alabama will return to Coleman Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 19 to face highly-ranked Tennessee. The Lady Vols beat the Tide, 89-54 in Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 29. The game will tip at noon central in Tuscaloosa.
