Alabama
Centenary College
Women's Basketball Defeats Centenary in Wendell Hudson's Debut
11/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 14, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama women's basketball team defeated Centenary 64-55 in the regular season debut of head coach Wendell Hudson at Coleman Coliseum Friday night. The Tide used an unselfish attack and stingy defense to hold off the Ladies as Alabama dished out 14 assists on 25 field goals while holding Centenary to 28 percent shooting for the game.
Alyson Butler knocked down a crucial three-pointer with 1:12 left to give the Tide a 62-55 lead and seal the victory. Alabama held a double digit lead for a large part of the second half, but the Ladies battled back to cut the lead to three at 54-51 with just over five minutes remaining.
The Tide would not let Centenary get any closer though holding the Ladies scoreless over the last two minutes of the game.
"I think our team made some steps toward maturity today," Hudson said. "That's the big key. This is our first game. Did I expect it to be a clean game? No, but what I can say about this team is that I thought the effort was there."
Eleven players scored for the Tide led by Butler with 13 points. Katie Hancock posted a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Dedrea Magee and Courtney Strauthers chipped in nine and eight points respectively. Tierney Jenkins brought energy to the defensive end coming up with three steals to go along with 10 boards.
"Coach Hudson has given me a lot of confidence," Butler said. "I feel comfortable under his leadership, and I think we all do. We feel relaxed, and he makes us want to play harder."
For the game, the Tide shot 36 percent from the floor and 25 percent from behind the arc. Alabama shot the ball well from the foul line knocking down 8-10 attempts. Magee was 5-5 from the charity stripe.
"I felt like we had some really nice open looks and the ball just wouldn't go in the basket for a while," Hudson said. "I told the team that we had some shots that I knew were down in the basket that just came out. You can't worry about it. That's basketball and that's going to happen sometimes."
The score remained tight in the early stages of the first half with the teams tied at 19-19 halfway through the period. At that point a Courtney Strauthers jumper began a 17-3 run for the Tide helping UA take a 36-24 lead into the break. Hancock and Butler each hit two three pointers and scored eight points apiece in the first frame.
Chelsea Johnson led Centenary in scoring with 12 points. Anne Farrell narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Tide will host Samford in its next game on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at Coleman Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
