Alabama Women's Basketball Completes Homestand Sweep, Defeats Houston 77-67

A 16-2 run the second quarter helped propel the Crimson Tide to yet another victory.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Despite a slow start and a season high 23 turnovers, the University of Alabama women's basketball team finished off its five-game homestand with a perfect record by defeating Houston at Coleman Coliseum on Friday night, 77-67. 

Four of the five wins were by double digits as the Crimson Tide improved to 7-2. 

"Obviously it got ugly there at the end but just some great learning opportunities," head coach Kristy Curry said. "Our shots might not have been falling and things weren't going our way but we just stayed together and that's what this team does."

The first quarter had all the makings of a physical, back-and-forth game, with Houston leading 19-18 at the end of the quarter. This was only the second time all season that Alabama trailed 

The Crimson Tide started the game 0-for-6 from three-point range, as Alabama did not make its first shot from beyond the arc until senior guard Megan Abrams nailed one from the wing with two seconds left in the first quarter.

Abrams paced the Tide in scoring, finishing with nine points in the first quarter and 23 overall.

The second quarter saw Alabama's offense light up the scoreboard to build a comfortable lead. The Tide outscored the Cougars in the second quarter 23-10, highlighted by a 16-2 run over five minutes that saw everything from a Jada Rice post-up, to an Abrams three, to a steal and layup from the SEC's second-place leader in steals, JaMya Mingo-Young.

"I think a lot of it is natural instincts," Mingo-Young said of her knack for getting steals. "I have the instincts to defend and react so I credit a lot of it to that."

The second quarter also saw senior guard Brittany Davis finally score her first points of the game on a free throw with 3:38 remaining in the quarter. Davis is Alabama's leading scorer on the season, averaging 17.8 points per game, and has scored double digits in every game this season. She finished with 17 points by the end of the game.

"My teammates out there, they help me as well when I'm down, they pick me back up and tell me to keep going," Davis said of her slow start.

Alabama's 12-point halftime lead was built upon in the third quarter, with Alabama leading by as many as 25 in the fourth before a 17-2 Houston run cut Alabama's lead to as few as 10 in the final minutes.

Unfortunately for Houston (3-5), there was not enough time on the clock to compete the comeback and Alabama was able to hold on for the win.

Next, Alabama will visit Chattanooga on Sunday for its first true road game of the season. The game will tip at 1 p.m. CT.

Women's basketball: Alabama 77, Houston 67