Alabama
9-2,0-0SEC
Sam Houston
4-5,0-0WAC
Monday Madness: Alabama Defeats Sam Houston, Earns 800th Program Win in Fifth Grade Fastbreak Game
12/13/2021 3:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Crimson Tide defeated the Bearkats, 84-50, in front of more than 1,700 students and teachers
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama women's basketball program earned its 800th win in a spirited morning matchup, as more than 1,700 students and teachers from around the Tuscaloosa, Ala., community gathered to watch the celebration in Coleman Coliseum Monday.
Alabama defeated Sam Houston, 84-50, to win its seventh straight game. The Crimson Tide improved to 9-2 in 2021, while the Bearkats dropped to 4-5.
Megan Abrams led Alabama in scoring, recording 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including knocking down a pair of 3-pointers, and 5-of-8 from the line. It marked the graduate's fourth game of scoring more than 20 points this season.
Five players scored in double figures for the third time this season, as JaMya Mingo-Young (15), Brittany Davis (14), Hannah Barber (11) and Taylor Sutton (11) rounded out the fivesome. Mingo-Young put together back-to-back double-double games, adding 11 rebounds, two steals and two assists to her stat line against Sam Houston, and in just 22 minutes of action.
The Crimson Tide held the Bearkats to 15 points or less in all four quarters, including outscoring the Bearkats, 27-9, in the second quarter to take control of the game after a back-and-forth start. Alabama had its fifth straight game of shooting 45 percent or better on 50.0 percent from the field against Sam Houston (30-of-60). The Crimson and White also continued its streak of nine straight games outrebounding its opponents, as the Crimson Tide grabbed 40 off the glass, compared to the Bearkats' 37.
Head Coach Kristy Curry
"I just really want to thank every teacher, every administrator that supported our Fifth Grade Fastbreak event today. From all of the local school systems, to the county, to the city and just a really, really great environment. We appreciate their energy. You know, this is one of our favorite days of the year, and we hope today they were able to see that we played hard and had a lot of energy. These kids take a lot of pride in representing the front of their chest and trying to go out every day and be good role models, and it was just really fun, especially on the day where we achieved 800 program wins. I thought it was really fitting because the energy in the crowd, the energy on the floor, and the way everyone competed all day, just represented what this program is about."
News and Notes
- Alabama is in its 48th season with a 800-616 (.565) all-time record.
- The Crimson Tide owns a 410-199 (.673) all-time home record.
- The Crimson Tide is 9-2 in 2021-22.
- Kristy Curry is in her ninth season as the head coach of the Crimson Tide, holding a 142-120 record in her time at The Capstone.
- Curry is in her 23rd season as a head coach in her career, holding a 451-269 mark all-time.
- Alabama's starting combination included guards Megan Abrams, Hannah Barber, JaMya Mingo-Young and Brittany Davis, and center Jada Rice, for the 11th straight game.
- Brittany Davis scored first for Alabama in the game.
- Khyla Wade-Warren was the first sub for the Crimson Tide.
- Jada Rice won the opening tip.
- The Crimson Tide had 11 blocks in the morning matchup.
- The last time the Tide has had at least 10 blocks was when it recorded 10 blocks against Alabama A&M on Nov. 10, 2017.
- Jada Rice was responsible for eight of those 11 blocked shots, which is the second most in a game in program history.
- Alabama outrebounded Sam Houston, 40-37.
- UA has outrebounded its opponents in 10 of 11 games this season.
- Alabama forced Sam Houston into two shot clock violations, one in each half.
- The Crimson Tide defense forced the Bearkats to make 17 turnovers, scoring 21 points as a result.
- Alabama recorded just 11 turnovers, as Sam Houston posted nine points off those errors.
- The Tide has won the turnover battle in 10 of 11 games this season.
- Five players scored in double figures for the third time this season, including Megan Abrams (21), JaMya Mingo-Young (15), Brittany Davis (14), Hannah Barber (11) and Taylor Sutton (11).
- Alabama is 3-0 this season when five or more players score in double figures.
- JaMya Mingo-Young recorded her second straight double-double, and the third this season and of her career (15 points, 11 rebounds), against the Bearkats.
- The last time a Crimson Tide player had consecutive double-doubles was when Ariyah Copeland accomplished that feat in March 2021.
How It Happened
- Sam Houston began the game on a 5-0 run, opening the first quarter with a 3-pointer from the corner.
- Alabama forced Sam Houston into a shot clock violation on the Bearkat's fifth possession to cap their scoring streak.
- The Crimson Tide's first points in the game came from Brittany Davis' couple of makes from the charity stripe.
- JaMya Mingo-Young broke the Crimson Tide's four-minute scoring drought with a fastbreak layup at 5:47 in the first quarter.
- By the first media timeout (1Q, 4:52), Sam Houston led Alabama, 9-4.
- The Crimson Tide turned the ball over three times in the first five minutes of the game.
- The Crimson Tide went on a 4-0 run out of the media timeout to tie the game, 9-9.
- By the end of the first quarter, Alabama led Sam Houston, 15-14.
- Megan Abrams led with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting, which all came in the final five minutes of the first quarter.
- In the first 10 minutes, Jada Rice had a career-high five blocked shots.
- The Crimson Tide opened the second quarter on a 13-0 run, keeping the Bearkats scoreless until 4:08 in the second quarter.
- Alabama outscored Sam Houston, 27-9, in the second quarter, taking a 42-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
- The Crimson Tide improved its shooting from 40.0 percent (6-of-15) in the first quarter to 69.2 percent (9-of-13) in the second quarter.
- Megan Abrams continued to lead the Tide in scoring, going into the break with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting. JaMya Mingo-Young rallied nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in the first half.
- JaMya Mingo-Young opened the second half with a layup, stretching Alabama's lead, 44-23.
- Hannah Barber knocked down a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers in the middle of the third quarter, her second and third of the game, as the Crimson Tide grabbed a 30-point lead, 60-30.
- Megan Abrams added a tres of her own, as the Crimson Tide went on an 11-0 run for more than three minutes toward the end of the third quarter.
- By the end of the third quarter, Alabama led Sam Houston, 68-35.
- The Crimson Tide began the fourth quarter scoring nine points in the first five minutes, then went scoreless for more than two minutes.
- Allie Craig Cruce eclipsed the scoring drought, rolling in a layup at the 3:32 mark, thanks to an assist by Myra Gordon.
- Khyla Wade-Warren immediately responded on defense with a monster block, the Crimson Tide's 10th of the game.
- Alabama closed out the game keeping Sam Houston scoreless for more than two minutes, while Allie Craig Cruce drained a 3-pointer around the one-minute mark.
Up Next
The University of Alabama women's basketball team will hit the road for the last time in the nonconference season, traveling to Little Rock, Ark., to square off against Little Rock on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 6:30 p.m. CT.
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaWBB on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. General athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
