Alabama
12-14 (4-9SEC)
Vanderbilt
6-20 (1-12SEC)
Alabama Bounces Back with Second-Ever Win in Memorial Gymnasium After Defeating Vanderbilt, 84-65
2/21/2019 10:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
It was the largest margin of victory in an SEC road game for the Crimson Tide since 1998
NASHVILLE – For only the second time in history, the Alabama women's basketball team won in Memorial Gymnasium after besting Vanderbilt, 84-65, on Thursday night in Nashville. With the win the Crimson Tide (12-14, 4-9 SEC) snaps its four-game losing streak, while the Commodores (6-20, 1-12 SEC) streak continues to seven games.
The 19-point victory for the Tide was the largest margin of victory in an SEC road matchup since Jan. 14, 1998, against Ole Miss.
"I'm really proud of this team and their response after Sunday," head coach Kristy Curry said. "We know we need to be consistent with this type of response, but I love the kids in that locker room, all the credit to them because they played their guts out. It's a tough place to play and it's a tough place on the road in this league. Vanderbilt is a tough team, they've been after some folks and have had close games down the stretch. I just credit our kids, we had great balance tonight."
Junior Cierra Johnson led the way for UA after coming up two points shy of tying her career high. Johnson totaled 25 points on an efficient 8-of-11 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. Sophomore Jasmine Walker chipped in 16 points and nine boards, while senior Shaquera Wade had 14 points and freshman Megan Abrams finished the game with 10 points.
The two teams battled back-and-forth to begin the game with Vanderbilt holding the narrow 20-18 advantage after the first period.
In the second quarter, the Tide started with a mini 5-0 run to go up 23-20 to force a VU timeout. Alabama continued to pile on the pressure and ended the half on a 14-2 run to take the 42-27 lead into the halftime break.
The 42 points at the half marked the fourth time this season the Tide had scored 40 or more points and it was also the first time in an SEC game in 2019. Abrams and Johnson combined for 22 of the 42 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field.
The Commodores showed fight to begin the second half, rattling off six-straight points to trim their deficit to 42-33. The Crimson Tide would respond with eight-consecutive points of its own to push the lead up to 50-33 with 5:13 to go in the third period.
The two sides continued to trade buckets in the third with Alabama leading 63-47 heading into the final quarter of action. The Tide began the fourth period with back-to-back three-pointers from Johnson and Wade to balloon the lead to 69-47. UA led by as many as 27 on two separate occasions before the eventual final, 84-65.
Alabama shot 52.8 percent (28-of-53) for the contest, while also knocking down 7-of-15 attempts from beyond the arc. The Tide also dominated the paint by outscoring Vanderbilt 32-22 downlow and winning the rebounding battle, 37-21.
UA will return to action on Sunday, Feb. 24 when it hosts Georgia for Senior Night in Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. CT and will air live on SEC Network.
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