Crimson Tide Runs Past West Alabama in Exhibition Opener
11/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Crimson Tide Runs Past West Alabama in Exhibition Opener
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Box Score
TUSCALOOSA ?? Both the Alabama and West Alabama women's basketball teams were in their respective season-openers, and the fact was evident at times in an exhibition match-up in the CAVE in Tuscaloosa this afternoon. In a hectic, sometimes sloppy contest, Alabama ran away from its instate rival late in the second half to secure a 69-46 win.
The Tide jumped out early behind the stellar outside shooting of junior Nevonda Moore. Moore, a former Miss Basketball in the state of Mississippi, drained two treys in her first two attempts, spurring her team to a 8-2 early lead. She finished with 13 points, one of three Alabama players in double-figures on the afternoon.
After the early run, however, the Tide offense ground to a halt, thanks to some tentative execution on the offensive end and a full-court pressure defense from the scrappy Tigers.
The two teams combined for 49 turnovers in the contest, as Alabama committed 24 while West Alabama turned it over 25 times. Although stats for exhibition games are unofficial, the turnovers forced would have been the first time the Tide forced an opponent to at least 25 turnovers since the 78-60 victory over Yale last December.
"At times, it didn't go as well as I would have liked," first-year head coach Stephany Smith said. "We are still learning, though, and there will come a point when we know our system better and can execute it."
When Alabama was able to avoid turning the ball over, they were able to exploit their height-advantage over the Division II Tigers. The Tide knocked down 56 percent of its floor attempts, but were unable to string together many consecutive baskets on the offensive end due to the turnovers.
Despite those mistakes, however, the Tide rallied behind 11 first-half points from Moore and junior forward Lauren Hill to carry an 11-point lead into the locker room.
The Tigers played inspired basketball early in the second frame, forcing Smith to call a timeout early in the half after forcing several Tide miscues. West Alabama got within 12, but never got the deficit under double figures. The Tide went on a 13-4 run to establish a 21-point lead with 5:44 to play.
Alabama used its superior depth and size in the final minutes, picking off several errant Tiger passes that led to easy fast-break opportunities. Leah Drury and Crystal Bellinger helped themselves to a pair of easy lay-ups as the Tide cruised to the final 23-point margin.
"We had a lot of fast-break opportunities today, but we were not able to convert as many of them to points as we would have liked," Smith said. "We were happy to have those opportunities, but we need to do a better job of scoring on those chances."
Hill led the team in scoring on the afternoon, pouring in 15 points on several excellent entry passes from her backcourt mates. Moore finished with 13 and junior Leah Drury added 12 to the winning effort. It was Drury's first action for the team since the 2003-04 season, when she played eight games, averaging 1.0 points per contest.
"Leah just comes to work every day," Smith said. "She doesn't come to just practice, she comes to work. I think that paid off for her today and it's the reason she is where she is."
Another outstanding effort was put in by junior college transfer Harriet Barnes. The Birmingham native, who starred at Wallace State CC the last two seasons, scored eight points and led the Tide on the boards, grabbing eight.
The Crimson Tide moves to 22-6 all-time in exhibition action. The last Tide loss in an exhibition contest was in 2003, when the Premier Players handed Alabama a 70-61 defeat.
Alabama will wrap-up the exhibition portion of its season on Friday, Nov. 5, when the team will face Henderson State. That game will tip-off at 7 p.m., and will be played in the CAVE in Coleman Coliseum.
The official opening of the season will be on Friday, Nov. 18, in the newly renovated Coleman Coliseum, when Alabama will play host to Washington.
