On Opening Day of SEC play in women’s basketball, Alabama went on the road and took an 83-57 loss to No. 3 South Carolina.
The Gamecocks, who have spent the last decade among the elite in women’s college basketball, came into Thursday’s matchup 13-1 with one loss by 2 points to the No. 4 Texas Longhorns. Aside from that defeat and a 2-point win over No. 22 Louisville, the team hasn’t played any other game within 15 points and has put up over 100 points six times.
Early on, the game was a battle of runs. South Carolina took a 10-2 lead in the first four minutes, but a pair of Alabama 3-pointers from guards Ace Austin and Ta’Mia Scott quickly narrowed the gap. Neither team made a field goal for the next couple of minutes, but after a layup from Crimson Tide forward Essence Cody cut the deficit to 3 at 15-12 with 3:20 to go, the Gamecocks went on a quick run and ended the opening period up 24-15.
Alabama seized some momentum in the second quarter, shooting 57.1% from the field while holding South Carolina under 50%. The quarter started with the advantage increasing, and Gamecock guard Tess Johnson hit a 3 to make it 33-19 just over two minutes in, but the Crimson Tide gradually chipped away at the lead, going on an extended 15-7 run over the rest of the period. The score was 40-34 at the break.
Statistically speaking, Alabama had a good half against such a strong opponent — guard Jess Timmons put up 10 points, while Scott and guards Karly Weathers and Diana Collins each logged 5. Potential cause for concern, however, was the team’s shot diet. While the SC lead was only 6, the Crimson Tide had cut that lead down via jump shots and only made one layup in the second quarter with no free throws.
The unsustainability of relying on jump shots reared its head in the third quarter. Collins made two layups and a 3 over the first five minutes of the quarter to keep the deficit in single digits, but after that the Crimson Tide went cold. As the Gamecocks forced turnovers and converted easy transition baskets, Alabama was forced to play in a half-court setting and repeatedly ran into what seemed like a brick wall on defense.
To counter the 15-8 run with which the Crimson Tide closed the first half, South Carolina went on a 9-1 run to close the third quarter. After it seemed like the game was in reach halfway through the period, Alabama was suddenly staring down a 20-point hurdle going into the fourth.
The gap only grew from there. After a third quarter in which the Crimson Tide shot 25% from the field — it shot 45% in the first half — the team was only marginally better, still hovering at a meager 30%. Moreover, that boost in efficiency is slightly deceptive, as Collins and Weathers hit 3-pointers in the final minute of the game to help the overall shooting splits and take the deficit from 32 to 26.
Collins was Alabama’s best scorer on the day, putting up 17 on 7/13 from the field and 3/4 from deep, and Timmons was the only other player to reach double digits with her 12. Forward Naomi Jones led with five rebounds, which is the lowest team-leading total for Alabama this season.
The team as a whole lost in a couple key areas it has consistently won across its 14-0 start, specifically points in the paint and fastbreak points. The Gamecocks dominated both, taking the paint battle 40-17 and the fastbreak battle 25-4. South Carolina did what it arguably does best on defense, which is stopping middle penetration, demonstrated by the Crimson Tide taking 29 3-pointers out of its 60 field goals. SC only took 13 out of its 62 shots from deep.
Alabama will look to bounce against Arkansas on Sunday. The game will tip off at 2:00 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
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