Alabama
5-0,0-0SEC
Samford
2-3,0-0SoCon
Ace Austin's Career-High Night Leads to 84-45 Win Over Samford
11/19/2025 10:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The freshman scored all 21 of her points off the bench in 30 minutes of action
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama women's basketball team improved to 5-0 to start the season following an 84-45 win over Samford (2-3) on Wednesday. The Crimson Tide's freshman, Ace Austin, scored a career-high 21 points off the bench in 30 minutes of action.
Austin was one of five UA players to score double figures in the Tide's 39-point victory as Karly Weathers (13), Jessica Timmons (12), Essence Cody (10) and Ta'Mia Scott (10) also achieved the feat. Weathers led the team in the plus-minus category, finishing plus 36 across her 31 minutes of play.
Samford was led by Sierra Godbolt with 13 points and Carla Baguda who grabbed seven rebounds.
Head Coach Kristy Curry Comments
"I'm just proud because it's a 40-minute game and I thought our kids, as the game went on, really started to understand what we wanted defensively. We were able to come out, I think, the first five minutes of the third [quarter] holding [Samford] scoreless, and we were able to get some easy baskets from our stops. We had a 2-1 assist-turnover ratio, we made more free throws than they shot, we dominated the glass and dominated the paint. We had five in double figures – just so many positives tonight and a lot to build on as we head into the weekend."
Game Notes
- Alabama has now held four of its five opponents to 45 points or fewer to open the season
- Ace Austin hit a career-high 21 points, going 4-of-8 from deep, to become the first UA player this year to score more than 20 points off the bench
- Austin also dished out a team-high five assists as the Tide collected 21 helpers on 31 made field goals
- Essence Cody extended her streak of double-digit scoring to five games after recording 10 points
- The Crimson Tide grabbed its most rebounds of the season, outrebounding the Bulldogs 42-25
- Alabama nearly doubled Samford in bench points (37-19), points in the paint (34-12) and points off turnovers (24-13)
- The Crimson Tide scored its most three-pointers in a game this season (12) and tied its highest three-point percentage (50 percent) since its game against Alcorn State (Nov.10)
- Alabama's 32 third-quarter points marked its highest-scoring period of the season, while Samford's seven were the fewest the Tide has allowed in a quarter all year
- Alabama shot 31-of-59 (53 percent) from the floor, 12-of-24 (50 percent) from deep and 10-of-16 (63 percent) from the free throw line
- In comparison, Samford shot 15-of-51 (29 percent) from the floor, 8-of-27 (30 percent) from deep and 7-of-8 (88 percent) from the charity stripe
How it Happened
- Alabama opened the game on an 8-2 run, making its first four field goals, before Samford countered with an 11-4 run to take a one-point lead after the first ten minutes
- The second quarter was highlighted by a 15-0 run to begin the frame, as the Tide held a 29-13 lead at the halfway point of the second
- The Bulldogs made an 11-1 run of their own to cut Alabama's led to five heading into halftime (32-27)
- UA made a trio of three-pointers to open the second half on an 11-0 run (43-27)
- The Alabama defense stepped up in the third quarter, holding the Bulldogs to 2-of-13 from the field, as the Tide went 11-of-16 to take a 30-point lead heading into the fourth (64-34)
- UA outscored Samford 20-11 in the final quarter, as Ace Austin led all scorers with eight points (2-of-3 from behind the arc) to seal the 84-45 victory for the Tide
Up Next
- Alabama will play a pair of games in the Baha Mar Pink Flamingo Championship in Nassau, Bahamas, beginning on Monday, Nov. 24
