Alabama
24-11,7-9SEC
Louisville
29-7,15-3ACC
Alabama Drops NCAA Round of 32 Game to Louisville, 69-68
3/23/2026 3:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The one-point game between the Tide and Cardinals saw 18 lead changes in addition to tying the score eight times
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Alabama's season ended after a heartbreaking 69-68 loss to third-seeded Louisville on Monday. Karly Weathers' late three-pointer with four seconds on the clock nearly brought the Crimson Tide to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1998, but Louisville would hold on to the one-point lead when the buzzer sounded. Â
Alabama was led by freshman Ace Austin who scored 17 points, shooting 5-of-8 (63 percent) from the three-point line. Karly Weathers contributed 13 points with five assists, while also grabbing a team-high five rebounds and four steals.Â
Head Coach Kristy Curry CommentsÂ
"Just really proud of our team. Obviously, there's a lot of emotion and a lot of tears, but I couldn't be prouder of everything that this group has done all year long. In a year where we weren't supposed to be in this position, they found a way to embrace the hard with just grit, love and gratitude. These two [Karly Weathers and Jessica Timmons] are really special. Jess for three years and Karly for four, are two of the best leaders and people. Just what they've done for our program. Hopefully they're going to understand one day that they did it the right way, and they sure left it a lot better than they found it. I'm really proud of them."
Game Notes
- Alabama concluded the season with a 24-11 overall record, its fifth consecutive 20-win season and fifth time in the last six years the Crimson Tide has reached the NCAA Tournament
- Ace Austin hit a career-high five 3-pointers and added a team high 17 points
- Austin, Diana Collins (14) and Karly Weathers (13) all posted double-digit outings, combining for 44 points
- Alabama shot 12-of-26 (46 percent) from the three-point line, nearly doubling Louisville's 7-of-26 (27 percent)
- Three UA reserves came off the bench for the bench to add 17 points
- The Crimson Tide shot a season-best 100 percent from the free throw line
- Alabama shot 26-of-57 (46 percent) from the floor, 12-of-26 (46 percent) from deep and 4-of-4 (100 percent) from the free throw line
- In comparison, Louisville shot 27-of-60 (45 percent) from the floor, 7-of-26 (27 percent) from behind the arc and 8-of-16 (50 percent) from the charity stripe
How it Happened
- Alabama and Louisville started the first quarter evenly matched with both teams reaching six points before the Cardinals used a 9-0 run to move aheadÂ
- The Crimson Tide responded at the end of the quarter with a 6-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from Ace Austin, cutting the deficit to one (14-15)
- The second quarter saw nine lead changes as UA built an early four-point advantage, the largest of the quarter, before falling behind by three with less than three minutes remaining (30-27)
- The Cardinals led with two seconds left in the half, but a last-second layup by Essence Cody gave the Tide a 35-34 lead at halftime
- Louisville emerged with control in the third quarter as the two teams swapped points in the opening minutes following halftime
- Both teams logged a two-minute scoring drought deep in the frame, starting just after the five-minute mark and ending with a Louisville jumper with two minutes left.
- Alabama opened the fourth frame down by seven (49-56) before a Crimson Tide 10-1 run gave UA the lead (59-57)
- UA tied the game at 61 with under four minutes remaining, but the Cardinals used a 6-0 run to establish their lead.
- Alabama responded with a 7-2 run to close the gap to one point (68-69) but couldn't complete the comeback
