Alabama Women?s Basketball Wins Second Straight
11/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA ?? It may not have been the most precise game the University of Alabama women’s basketball team has played this season, but the young Tide unit continues to find ways to win. Alabama won its second straight, and the third consecutive game at home, with a 60-57 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday in Coleman Coliseum.
“It may not have been pretty, but we were able to find a way to win,” said head coach Stephany Smith. “We just have so much youth on the floor at all times that it makes it hard for us to put good stretches together. We just need to keep fighting to get wins as we improve.”
So far this season, it has been two seniors, Kate Mastin and Navonda Moore, who have led the Tide offensively. This afternoon, it was a new face, true freshman Nikki Davis, who took control for Alabama down the stretch.
Davis, one of nine true freshmen in the nation to have started at the point guard position in her team’s season opener, came into the game averaging 5.7 points. She almost tripled that average in today’s win, scoring 16 points, including 10 in the second half to help seal the Tide victory.
“We saw signs of what Nikki Davis is capable of doing in stretches in the second half,” said Smith. “But all of our young players, Nikki included, are just so bogged down with all of the details they are trying to learn that we have not seen anything close to what they are capable of doing. We just need to keep making strides and coming up with ways to win some games while we do that.”
The Tide defense was also a factor in the second half, as Southeastern Louisiana scored just seven field goals and shot 25 percent in the final 20 minutes. The Lions were solid from the free-throw line, however, knocking down 14-of-16 from the charity stripe in the final half.
In the end, though, the Tide made just enough shots and got defensive stops when it needed them. Junior Nathalie Reshard grabbed seven rebounds in the second half and Navonda Moore finished with nine points for the Tide.
Alabama, now a perfect 3-0 on its home floor, plays on a neutral court for the first time this season on Friday, Nov. 26. The Tide faces Missouri in the opening round of the St. Mary’s Tournament in San Francisco, Calif. Alabama matches up with either the hosting Gaels or Cal State-Northridge in the second game on Saturday, Nov. 26.
