In an intense duel of rivals Thursday night, No. 21 Alabama dropped its second game of conference play against the Auburn Tigers 58-54.
“We had some uncharacteristic pace about us tonight. Turned the ball over way too much on the road and gave up some critical offensive rebounds,” head coach Kristy Curry said.
Auburn, which came into this Iron Bowl of Basketball sitting at 12-6 and 1-3 in the SEC, picked up its second consecutive win after a 60-50 victory over Florida on Sunday. The Tigers were led by forward Khady Leye against the Crimson Tide, who scored 16 points while grabbing nine rebounds and logging two each of steals and blocks.
Perhaps the story of the game was Auburn’s high-level defensive effort, which at times proved stifling for an Alabama attack accustomed to scoring in the 60s and 70s. The Crimson Tide had two of its least productive quarters of the season on Thursday night, scoring only 8 points in both the first and third while giving up double digits.
It was an even-keeled opening period, but the signs of offensive struggle were there early. Despite Alabama keeping the score even with free throws, the team didn’t make a field goal in the last seven minutes of the quarter. It wasn’t until 9:27 in the second quarter — nearly 20 minutes of non-game real time — that the Crimson Tide ended that drought on a 3-pointer from guard Karly Weathers.
Both teams picked up their pace in the second. It was 13-8 in favor of the Tigers after one, but it was up to 30-29 Auburn at halftime, with both teams upping their efficiency and converting on shots at a higher clip. Guard Jessica Timmons led the way in scoring for the Crimson Tide and finished the half with 7 points on 3/7 shooting from the field. Weathers and guard Ta’Mia Scott followed with 6 apiece.
On the Auburn side, guard Kaitlyn Duhon grabbed five rebounds to lead the team. Leye scored 10 of her 16 in the first 20 minutes.
“We just didn’t do a very good job guarding her at the high post and gave too many open looks,” Curry said.
The second half began with more of the same, a near-deadlock between the fierce rivals with a slight advantage to the Tigers. The Crimson Tide’s deficit remained between 3 and 5 points for nearly the entirety of the quarter. Alabama never led, but its biggest gap was a 6-point hole it faced from the 2:37 mark to the end of the quarter.
Tiger guard A’riel Jackson hit a shot from deep to give Auburn its biggest lead of the game at the beginning of the fourth, but Alabama used that low point as the springboard for a comeback. The team went from down 46-37 at the 9:44 mark to up 49-48 at 5:55, empowered by three forced turnovers and a flurry of baskets from Timmons, Weathers and forward Alancia Ramsey.
Auburn responded well, almost immediately taking the lead back. It would never look back after going back up 50-49. Alabama grabbed several steals and had a high-stakes final possession that had a chance to tie or take the lead, but it ended with a Timmons charging foul. From there, the Tigers hit free throws and hung on to win the game.
For yet another game, Timmons led the Crimson Tide in scoring with 16 on 6/18 shooting from the field and 2/7 from 3. She was followed by Scott with 12 and Weathers with 10. Nobody else scored more than 6.
“Just a combination of effort and energy that I was disappointed in tonight,” Curry said. “Across the board I kept trying to dig a little bit and find other ways and change our defense. We seemed to really struggle.”
Alabama will now look to recuperate before another big conference game, this time with No. 20 Tennessee coming to town. The game will be in Coleman Coliseum at 1 p.m. CT Sunday and can be watched on SEC Network.
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