Alabama
Southeastern Louisiana
Women's Basketball Beats Southeastern Louisiana, 68-55
11/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2009
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Juniors Alyson Butler and Varisia Raffington and sophomore Ericka Russell each scored 12 points to lead the Crimson Tide to a 68-55 win over the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions on Tuesday at Coleman Coliseum.
Senior Dedrea Magee added seven points and four assists, while junior LaToya King chipped in four points and six assists for the Tide, who improved to 3-2 on the season. Southeastern Louisiana fell to 1-4 overall.
"What we did early, especially in the second half, the first 10 minutes of the second half I thought we really dictated the tempo; ran the ball; pushed the ball; played the boards hard," Alabama head coach Wendell Hudson said. "What this team has got to do, this is all a growing process."
The Tide held the Lady Lions to just 18-of-53 (34 percent) from the field and 6-of-23 (26.1 percent) from behind the three point line. Alabama forced 22 turnovers and more than doubled Southeastern Louisiana's assist total of total of nine with 19 of its own.
The win marks the sixth consecutive time Alabama has defeated the Lady Lions dating back to 77-57 victory on Feb. 26, 1991.
"The first 32 minutes were pretty good," Hudson said. "We played the way we needed to play and that's what we talked to the team about."
Butler, who finished the night 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, keyed a 17-6 run at the end of the first half that enabled the Tide to take a 30-18 advantage into halftime.
From there Alabama never looked back, expounding the margin to 21 midway through the second half before coasting to the victory.
"It always helps a lot for us to make shots because Coach (Hudson) is always saying how we need to just stay relaxed and take a shot instead of worrying about it," Butler said. "So just step up and take the shot."
Russell, who was playing in her second game after missing the first three with an injury, had a game-high nine rebounds in addition to her 12 points in 23 minutes of action.
"It meant a lot to get back," said Russell. "I missed playing, but I think our team was holding it down. It felt good to get back out there and get in the rhythm of the game again. I had a lot more legs to me. I've been trying to get a lot of shots in and get back into the rhythm of playing an entire game." After a tightly contested opening 9:56, Alabama outscored the Lady Lions 12-2 over the next 4:49 to expand its lead to 25-14. During the stretch, Butler connected on two of her three long range buckets while junior Katie Hancock chipped in four points.
The Tide defense was also up to the task, forcing eight Southeastern Louisiana turnovers during the run.
"If you can get one or two stops or get a turnover and get a score, it just keeps adding on and on," Butler said. "It always helps because it just boosts confidence in our team."
The Lady Lions pulled within 10 points with 16:10 left in the second half, but could get no closer the rest of the way. Immediately after Southeastern Louisiana closed the gap, Alabama used an 11-0 run to push the lead to 45-24.
The Tide held a 68-47 lead with 1:01 left before the Lady Lions ended the game on an 8-0 run to equal the final margin.
Juniors Rashima Jenkins and Chelsea Hix led Southeastern Louisiana with eight points apiece.
Alabama will take on Cal State Bakersfield on Nov. 28 and Illinois on Nov. 29 as part of the Holiday Beach Classic in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Tip-off versus Cal State Bakersfield is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (CST) while the Illinois game is set for a 4 p.m. (CST) start.
