Alabama
McNeese State University
Alabama Women’s Basketball Moves to 10-1 with 84-63 Victory over McNeese State
12/19/2016 10:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Meo Knight has season-high 20 points, while Ashley Knight finishes with 16 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks
NICEVILLE, Fla. – The Alabama women's basketball team earned an 84-63 win over McNeese State in its first game in the Patrick Harrington Classic, which is being played at Northwest Florida State's Raider Arena. The victory moved the Crimson Tide to 10-1, its best start over the first 11 games since 2000.
"We are honored to be here. This is a great cause for a great coach and a great man," Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said of Harrington, who was the head coach at Northwest Florida State before passing away in a car accident two years ago. "McNeese was very motivated and played near-perfect at times, but our kids really pulled through."
Junior Meoshonti Knight led five in double figures with a season-high 20 points, while freshman Ashley Knight had a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds in addition to six blocks. Her six blocks ties for the third most in a single game in program history. Also in double figures was freshman Jordan Lewis with 11 and juniors Quanetria Bolton and Hannah Cook with 10 apiece. Junior Mercedes Rogers led the Cowgirls with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Alabama held McNeese State scoreless over the first four minutes of the game, allowing the Tide to build a nine-point lead. Cook knocked down a long three just before the buzzer to give Alabama a 20-12 lead after one.
The two teams traded baskets for the majority of the second quarter, but the Tide was able to push its lead out to double digits at the end of the frame, outscoring the Cowgirls, 6-2 over the final 1:39 to give Alabama a 39-29 edge at the break.
McNeese State responded with a 6-2 run of its own to begin the third and eventually cut its deficit to four at the 5:25 mark. That was as close as the Cowgirls would get as the Tide took over down the stretch, pushing its lead back out to double digits and taking a 58-46 advantage into the final period.
In the fourth, it was all Alabama as the Tide scored 26 points and led by as many as 22.
Alabama shot 38.5 percent (15-39) in the first half before turning it around in the second, where the Tide hit 57.1 percent (16-28) of its attempts to finish at 46.3 percent (31-67) for the game. McNeese State finished at 36.5 percent (23-63) overall. The Tide won the battle of the boards, 48-32, and outscored the Cowgirls, 48-22, in the paint.
"At one point in the third quarter we just put it together and willed ourselves," added Curry. "NeNe really gave us a boost off the bench. And AK (Ashley Knight). I mean what can you say? To finish with 16 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks in 23 minutes was just phenomenal. Our bench, from NeNe, to AK, to Coco (Knight), was big, big, big for us tonight. Meo was unstoppable. It was just a good all-around team effort."
Alabama closes out the Patrick Harrington Classic on Tuesday when it takes on UTEP at 7 p.m. CT.
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