In its first-round game of the NCAA Tournament against No. 11 seed Rhode Island on Saturday, No. 6 seed Alabama won 68-55.
“We did it with a lot of toughness and grit that we pride ourselves on,” head coach Kristy Curry said. “We’re built for this, having been in our league. We see this a lot, and I thought our kids did a nice job of countering with their decision-making offensively down the stretch.”
The victory marks the third year in a row that the Crimson Tide has advanced to the second round of the tournament, and the team will now look ahead to its showdown with the Louisville Cardinals, who will host the Round of 32 game.
From the jump, Alabama showed an aggressive, attack-the-rim mentality. Guards like Jessica Timmons, Diana Collins and Ta’Mia Scott were able to get downhill effectively at will, getting constant paint touches and not settling for outside shots. The team only took five 3s in the entire first half, making two of them off pick-and-pop shots from forward Essence Cody.
“It’s just a team effort. Diana started it with the way she attacked downhill,” Timmons said, putting emphasis on the preparation the team gets from the coaching staff. “A lot of our girls played through fouls, we hustled, we attacked the rim.”
Across the first two quarters, Alabama won the points-in-the-paint battle 16-4. In total, Collins scored 12 and Cody had 10, with Timmons also pitching in 7.
The paint points discrepancy isn’t just indicative of how aggressively the Crimson Tide attacked, but also how well it defended — life was uncomfortable for the Rams, who put up 10 more field goal attempts than Alabama in the opening half but converted on three less, shooting an abysmal 7/31.
“What we can always control is our defense,” Timmons said. “They’re a really good team, a well-coached team, but we just outran them and out-hustled them.”
Curry echoed the praise for the defense: “We were wanting to keep them in front and contest every shot. I thought our kids did a really nice job of staying consistent with the gameplan.”
Rhode Island threw its hardest punch in the last minutes before halftime and the first few of the third quarter. Down 30-15 with under five minutes in the second, the Rams strung together stops and converted on a flurry of shots, getting it down to 31-23 at the half and then 36-32 early in the third. It was an extended 17-6 run that brought the gap to within 4.
The danger didn’t last long for Alabama, which recovered with poise and threw a punch of its own by way of sustained aggressiveness and connectivity on both ends of the floor. After the URI run, Curry’s squad went on a 17-1 run that gave it a 53-35 lead to close the third and put the game nigh out of reach.
Rhode Island fought ferociously in the fourth quarter, shooting 60% from range, but Alabama’s quickness and overall talent advantage prevailed.
“Our kids just showed a lot of resilience, and we were able to weather some runs,” Curry said.
Timmons led in scoring and finished with 21 points, with Cody pouring in 19 and Collins logging 16.
Alabama is set to play Louisville on Monday, with the tipoff time and broadcast network still to be announced.
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