Alabama Women's Basketball Outlasts Mercer, 55-48

Led by its defense, Alabama emerged victorious at Coleman Colisuem to get back in the win column.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama responded to a weekend loss with a bounce-back win over Mercer at Coleman Coliseum on Wednesday night, 55-48.

The game had showings of fireworks early on, with Alabama leading 19-13 at the end of the first quarter and making five three-pointers in the period. Senior Megan Abrams and senior Brittany Davis scored 11 points and eight points respectively, and were the only members of the Crimson Tide to score in the quarter.

Abrams finished with 17 points, and Davis finished with 13 and added nine rebounds. Abrams has now led the Crimson Tide in scoring in consecutive games.

"It really brings confidence seeing the ball go through the net," Abrams said. "At the end of the day our team got the win and that's what's important so I'm glad that I could contribute to that."

The second quarter saw Alabama fail to record a point until over four minutes in. Mercer cut the lead to just two points midway through the quarter, but senior reserve Allie Craig Cruce came off the bench and provided Alabama with five straight points and the spark that would help the Tide regain control of the game.

"I'm really happy for her," Crimson Tide coach Kristy Curry said. "She's had some things happen out of her control, but she's been able to get into a flow the last couple days... Not only making shots but she came in and played with a lot of energy so it really helped our team."

Cruce finished the game with six points over 15 minutes. 

The Tide pulled away over the course of the third quarter as more player began to get involved. Alabama only out-rebounded Mercer by three and had four more turnovers than the Bears. 

The difference in the game for the Crimson Tide came from the defense and the three-point shooting. Alabama (3-2) held Mercer to 32 percent shooting from the floor, below their 38 percent average on the season, and made nine threes as opposed to only four for Mercer (3-3).

"I was really proud of our team's grit and resiliency against what I think will be a tournament team," Curry said. "I thought we grew from Duke and we'll grow from today. I just want our kids to get 1 percent better every day."

Alabama will continue its five-game homestand on Friday as it takes on Western Carolina at 2 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum.