Alabama
Air Force
Women's Basketball Defeats Air Force, 80-45
12/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2011
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Alabama 80, Air Force 45 [Box Score]
Meghan Perkins notched her first career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds
Crimson Tide Basketball Central
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The women's basketball team improved to 10-4 on the season, closing out the 2011 calendar year with an 80-45 victory over the Air Force Falcons on Friday night at Foster Auditorium.
Junior guard Meghan Perkins notched the first double-double of her Alabama career, scoring a game-high 19 points to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior forward Kyra Crosby tied her career-high with 13 points, while freshman forward Aneesah Daniels, sophomore guard Jasmine Robinson and junior guard Celiscia Farmer each added eight points apiece for the Crimson Tide.
"We finished up (the non-conference schedule) in a good way," said Alabama head coach Wendell Hudson. "We talked to this team about making little strides and getting better as a team. I thought our energy level was up really high to start the basketball game. We were playing together, but we just missed so many opportunities early. As far as effort was concerned on both ends of the court and sharing the basketball, we did fine."
The Tide led for 39 of the game's 40 minutes, setting a new season-high rebounding mark with 55, while tying its season-high point total of 80. Alabama forced 23 Air Force turnovers, of which it converted into 18 points, while outscoring the Falcons by a margin of 40-6 on points in the paint. The Tide also enjoyed an 18-2 edge on fast break points.
With the score tied 13-13 midway through the first half, Alabama mounted a 13-0 run over a two minute span, cashing in on several Air Force mistakes, to pull in front 26-13 at the 5:03 mark of the half. From there, the Tide would build the lead even further, increasing the margin to as much as 16 points in the latter stages of the half before settling on a 37-22 advantage at intermission.
Following the break, Alabama embarked on a 16-2 run over the first 7:18 of the half to take a commanding 53-24 lead. During the stretch, the Tide enjoyed an over 3:1 ratio on shots taken (25 to 8), while getting 10 of the 16 points from its bench players.
After an Air Force basket briefly cut the lead to 27 points, Alabama utilized another game-changing run to put the contest completely out of reach. The Tide outscored the Falcons 19-7 over a six-and-a-half minute stretch to take its biggest lead of the game, 72-33, at the 5:36 mark. From there, Alabama would enjoy a cushion of no less than 33 points en route to a 35-point victory.
Alabama has now won three consecutive games as it prepares to open Southeastern Conference play at South Carolina on Sunday, January 1, 2012.
