Alabama women's basketball survives late run, beats Houston 77-67

Alabama women’s basketball beat Houston 77-67 on Friday night in Coleman Coliseum for its fifth straight win.

Megan Abrams scored 23 points and added seven rebounds, while Brittany Davis added 16 points and eight rebounds. Hannah Barber had 12 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with a right foot injury. JaMya Mingo Young had 10 points and Jada Rice scored nine points.

Here's what we learned:

Alabama survives late Houston run

The Crimson Tide (7-2) survived a late 15-0 run by the Cougars (3-5) that cut the lead to 10 with 1:35 left. Alabama turned the ball over four times to accelerate the run. The Cougars made 5 of 7 shots before Alabama used the clock and free throws to its advantage.

Slow start turned around

Alabama scored 18 points in the first quarter but shot 35.7% from the field. Alabama’s four turnovers made it difficult to get in rhythm against a strong Houston defense. Alabama's first made 3-pointer came as the quarter ended by Abrams.

“Just staying positive, take the first open look no hesitation,” Kristy Curry said. “We’ve gotten great shots, as long as they're great shots they're going to go in.

"What we can control is defending a little better. I wasn’t pleased with how we defended at times, a couple of things we did with our hands down and tendency-wise. We were giving up too many right drives, so we corrected some of that and I think when you can defend and rebound the offense it will come. Just stay patient and stay positive.”

During the second quarter, the Crimson Tide shot 69.2% from the field en route to 23 points. Alabama went on an 11-point run to lead 41-29 at the half.

Megan Abrams' big night

Abrams had her second-highest point total of the season. She was able to do it in a variety of ways, going 7-for-10 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3-point range. She scored nine first-quarter points.

Alabama five-game win streak

Since losing to Duke on Nov. 21 in the Maggie Dixon Classic, the Crimson Tide has five straight wins, with the last four coming by double digits. The Crimson Tide has held opponents to 49.4 points a game while the offense has scored 73.8 points a game.

Alabama plays at Chattanooga on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPN+).

Last Game: Alabama women's basketball beats Memphis as four players score in double figures

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama women's basketball beats Houston behind Megan Abrams' 23 points