Alabama
11-8,1-5SEC
Texas A&M
16-3,4-2SEC
Alabama Falls in Final Minutes to No. 15/15 Texas A&M, 79-74
1/23/2020 10:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Junior Jasmine Walker led the Crimson Tide with 18 points in the loss
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women's basketball team fell in the final minutes to No. 15/15 Texas A&M, 79-74, on Thursday night inside Coleman Coliseum. The loss dropped the Crimson Tide to 11-8 (1-5 SEC), while the Aggies improved to 16-3 (4-2 SEC) on the year. Texas A&M made its final five field goal attempts to clinch the victory, while the Crimson Tide missed its final four attempts from the floor.
Junior Jasmine Walker and redshirt junior Jordan Lewis led the way for the Crimson Tide in the loss. Walker scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds while Lewis dropped 17 points and dished out seven assists. In addition, sophomore Megan Abrams contributed 11 points and seven rebounds, while senior Cierra Johnson had 10 points off the bench.
From Coach Curry
- "I thought the difference in the game was that A&M gets to line 32 times, we get there 13. I thought we were able to the second half put ourselves in a position with our rebounding and to have 15 assist and only seven turnovers, we did a lot of really, really good things," said head coach Kristy Curry. "I thought they were able to make a play at the end. No, it wasn't what we wanted. We wanted a catch-and-shoot three and didn't execute there at the end, so I need to coach better. The most important thing in the world to me is these kids know we have lost to No. 4, No. 12, No. 15 and No. 23. We have had the toughest opening in the SEC. We can learn from that and we can continue to put these experiences into play because we have lost to some really good teams and tonight was another good team."
Quarter-by-Quarter
- Alabama raced out to a 9-5 lead, but a 6-0 Texas A&M spurt put the Aggies in front 11-9 at the 4:10 mark of the first quarter. A jumper from sophomore Brittany Davis with just 8 seconds on the clock knotted the score up for the Tide, at 18-18, after one quarter of play.
- With the Tide in front 25-24 with 6:09 remaining in the second, Alabama rattled off an 8-0 run to extend its lead to 33-24 with just 2:49 to play until halftime. Texas A&M answered with an 8-3 run that made it a 36-32 Alabama advantage at the half.
- The Tide stretched its lead to 52-41 with 4:27 left in the third quarter, but the Aggies finished the period on a 10-4 run, giving the Tide a 56-51 lead entering the final quarter of the contest.
- The two teams battled back-and-forth in the final frame, when a three-pointer by Texas A&M gave the Aggies a 75-73 lead with just 30 seconds to play. Alabama would miss a three-pointer in the final moments, and the Aggies made two free throws to seal the 79-74 win.
Player Spotlight
- Walker has scored double figures in all six SEC contests after her 18-point performance against the Aggies. The junior is averaging a team-best 16.8 points and 7.5 rebounds in conference play.
- Lewis moved up to No. 8 all-time in career assists at Alabama with seven in the game, she now has 357 for her career. Her 17 points marks the ninth consecutive game in doubles figures.
- Senior Ashley Knight tallied nine points on 4-of-4 shooting, while also swatting a team-best four shots off the bench.
- Abrams set a new career-high in rebounds with seven, while going a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
Stats of the Game
- Alabama dominated in bench points, with the Crimson Tide reserves contributing 26 points, while the A&M's failed to score.
- The Crimson Tide outscored the Aggies 34-26 in the paint, while putting in 13 second chance point to A&M's seven.
Up Next
- Alabama continues its homestand with a game against Vanderbilt on Sunday, January 26 at 2 p.m CT inside Coleman Coliseum. The game between the Crimson Tide and Commodores will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
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