Women’s Basketball Rolls Past Mississippi State, 71-63, on Senior Day
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – On Senior Day, Alabama’s big three combined for 54 points to lead the Crimson Tide offensively to a 71-63 win over Mississippi State in Coleman Coliseum. Alabama is now 15-6 overall and 8-6 against Southeastern Conference opponents, while the loss drops the Bulldogs to 8-7 overall and 4-6 in conference play.
Once again, Jasmine Walker was the team’s leader in scoring with 20 points, while Ariyah Copeland was right behind with 19 points and 11 rebounds – making it her eighth double-double this season. Jordan Lewis added 15 points to the trio’s scoring. Megan Abrams kept the Tide rolling with nine points, six rebounds and a career-high seven assists, and Hannah Barber added six assists compared to just one turnover.
Alabama shot over 50 percent in the first and fourth quarters with a final percentage of 47.6. The Tide also had a successful night distributing the ball, totaling for a combined 20 assists across the team. Alabama capitalized on the Bulldogs’ 16 turnovers and kept a double-digit lead for the majority of the game to finish on top in Tuscaloosa.
Head Coach Kristy Curry Said
“Huge win against a really great Mississippi State team. Today was really important to leave with no doubt. I’m so proud of our seniors for the way they performed on Senior Day. That can be so emotional and drain a lot of your energy, but man did they handle it so maturely. I’m just so proud of my team. Twenty assists and nine turnovers against a team like Mississippi State shows that we were sharing the ball well and setting good screens. For our first group to do what they did numbers wise with three seniors in double digits and Meg [Abrams] having nine [points], seven assists and six rebounds. It was a great team effort today in so many ways. I’m really proud of our team.”
How It Happened
- Alabama led for the entire game, beginning with the opening basket at the 9:35 mark off a three from Barber.
- The Tide’s advantage reached double digits off a three from Walker with 2:40 to go in the first and would go on to score 11 unanswered.
- The Bulldogs responded with a 6-0 run to end the quarter.
- Alabama continued to lead throughout the second and closed out the half with a lead of 38-25 over the Bulldogs.
- In the third, the Tide led by as many as 17 and ended the period ahead by 15, 55-40.
- Alabama took its largest lead of the game at the 4:32 mark in the fourth, however nine straight for Mississippi State cut it to nine late and eventually eight by game’s end with the final jumper.
News and Notes
- Walker had another 20-plus point game, her 13th time this season. Six of those outings have come in SEC play.
- Abrams reached a career-high of seven assists, beating out her previous best of six set against Oklahoma State earlier in the year. In the last two games, she’s averaged 8.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals.
- Copeland has eight double-doubles this season and 16 for her career.
- Lewis reached double-figure points for the 16th time this season, including all but one conference game where she had eight.
- Alabama scored 22 points off 16 Mississippi State miscues.
Next Up
- Alabama hosts No. 5/5 Texas A&M in the Tide’s final home game of the 2020-21 season on Thursday.
- Tip is set for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
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