How a shorthanded Alabama women's basketball fell to Florida behind a trio of stars
A shorthanded Alabama women’s basketball team fell to Florida 85-77 on Sunday at Coleman Coliseum. It marks the Crimson Tide fourth straight loss.
The game stayed close but the Gators (13-5, 3-2 SEC) were able to pull away as Alabama got cold from the floor. Alabama went on a 4-plus minute field goal drought near the end of the game.
The Crimson Tide (10-7, 1-5) was led by the trio of Megan Abrams (22 points, 7 rebounds), JaMya Mingo-Young (18 points, 7 rebounds) and Brittany Davis (19 points and 10 rebounds).
Alabama struggled to slow Florida's Alberte Rimdal who scored 17 points on a 6 for 6 shooting performance.
The game was Alabama's annual “We Back Pat” game honoring the legacy of legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt and the fight against Alzheimer’s.
The Crimson Tide honored 25 former players during their annual alumnae day.
SEC Outlook: Alabama women's basketball looks to continue seven-game win streak heading into SEC play
Ole Miss loss: How Alabama women's basketball lost by 30 points at Ole Miss
Shorthanded Tide
Alabama was without starter Hannah Barber and rotational players Allie Craig Cruce, Nia Daniels and Ahriahna Grizzle. It led to the Crimson Tide having eight players available for the game.
Barber had been averaging 8.4 points a game and 3.1 assists. Taylor Sutton started in place of Barber, scoring six points before fouling out. Sutton has been the first off the bench and it showed with her comfortability joining the starting five.
Alabama stars show up
Missing a starter and a couple of rotational players meant that the stars needed to step up and they did as Abrams, Mingo-Young and Davis combine for 59 points.
Even more, they all played over 34 minutes while providing quality perimeter defense for the Crimson Tide. Coach Kristy Curry said that Abrams played herself to the point of exhaustion, having to sit near the end of the game.
"I couldn't be more proud of those three," Curry said. "At the end of the day sometimes at the end of the day, you do your best but come up short. ... I thought those three had a lot of leadership about them. ... It was really special to watch."
They didn’t have the most efficient shooting performances but were able to knock down contested shots when necessary.
Stingy defenses
Florida forced Alabama to earn every trip up the court with a full-court press on almost every possession. The Gators have allowed an average of 64.3 points a game.
Alabama didn’t let the Gators get many easy buckets with their own tough half-court defense. Alabama not only forced Florida into 15 turnovers but had multiple forced jump balls. At the end, the Crimson Tide struggled to slow Florida.
Up next
Alabama host Arkansas on Thursday (8 p.m. CT, SEC Network).
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama women's basketball narrowly falls to Florida
