Women's Basketball Blows Out Nevada in Paradise Jam Consolation
11/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Women's Basketball Blows Out Nevada in Paradise Jam Consolation
Saturday, November 26, 2005
BOX SCORE
ST. THOMAS, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS ?? What a difference a day makes. After a lackluster performance in the opening round of the Paradise Jam, Alabama (2-2) responded emphatically with a 76-46 blowout of Nevada (0-4).
The outcome was never in doubt from the opening tip. The Tide jumped all over the Wolfpack, zipping to an early 20-1 lead behind a suffocating defensive effort. Nevada went without a field goal for over ten minutes, making the first field goal at the 9:34 mark.
Alabama's stifling defense was a mirror opposite of yesterday's game, as the Tide hassled the Pack guards all over the court. The Tide forced 17 Nevada turnovers in the first half alone and was extremely proficient in turning those mistakes into points. Alabama scored 19 points off turnovers in the opening half and had 33 in the game.
Meanwhile, the Tide offense put on a clinic. Alabama ran new head coach Stephany Smith's triangle offense to perfection in the first half, hitting cutters and open players repeatedly in the first half. Behind that offensive effort, Alabama poured in 36 points in the opening half, a season-high, behind a 48.5 percent shooting effort in the first stanza.
"I was really happy with the way we executed our offense today," Smith said. "We really made a commitment to passing the ball more crisply and making better cuts to the basket. We were able to do just that, and it helped us get a lot of good looks."
All 11 players in uniform played in the opening half, and nine of them scored. Alabama's offensive distribution was phenomenal in the first period, with no player scoring more than seven points with six players with four points or more.
In the second half, the Wolfpack put on a mini-run, cutting the margin under 20 points for the first time since early in the first half. The Tide responded behind some deadly outside shooting, a facet of the Alabama offense that had been missing up to this point.
"We knew after watching Nevada play yesterday that they were a very scrappy team," Smith said. "We knew they wouldn't give up and they never did. I was happy with the way we responded and executed throughout the game."
Kate Mastin led the outside shooting, draining 3-of-5 from downtown en route to a game-high 14 points. Marverly Nettles, Camilla Blands and Navonda Moore each chipped in, as each recorded her first three-pointer of the season.
The Tide dominated the boards against the Wolfpack, in what has become a strong-point for Alabama early in the season. The Tide ripped down 44 boards to Nevada's 26 for an 18-rebound margin. Alabama averages 42.5 rebounds per contest, an even 10.0 more than its opponents on the season. Today's rebounding total was the second highest rebound margin for the Tide this season after Alabama outrebounded Santa Clara by 26 earlier this week.
Perhaps the only statistical category the Tide did not dominate was at the free throw line. In fact, Nevada's best offense came from some overaggressiveness by Tide defenders that allowed Wolfpack players to get to the charity stripe. Nevada made 21-of-28 free throws as the Tide committed 27 personal fouls for the game. In comparison, Nevada recorded only 12 field goals in the game and just three in the first half.
Mastin led all scorers with 14, as five Crimson Tide players notched double-figures in scoring for the first time since Jan. 20, 2005, when Alabama performed the feat against South Carolina. Blands had 12, Moore and Nettles each added 11 and Harriet Barnes scored 10 points for the Tide.
The bottom line for the Tide, however, was its defensive dominance. Alabama held Nevada to 28.6 percent shooting on the day, including an amazing 18.8 percent performance in the first half. It was the second time this season that Alabama has held an opponent under 30 percent shooting for the game, and also the second time that the Tide have forced an opponent to shoot under 20 percent in a half.
Alabama collected 14 steals, led by Blands, who nabbed three. Nevada committed 26 turnovers, a season-high for the Tide defense. Alabama also tallied five blocks to Nevada's one behind Dee Merriweather, who added three more to her career totals. Merriweather now has 94 blocks in her career, good for fourth all-time in Crimson Tide history.
The Tide will return home on Sunday, Nov. 27, and will resume its regular season on Thursday, Dec. 1, when Alabama will host instate rival Alabama A&M.
