Effort Not Enough as Alabama Women's Basketball Loses to No. 4 LSU

With offense coming at a premium, the Crimson Tide could not stop the Tigers from running away with the 89-51 victory.

The University of Alabama women's basketball team came into Monday evening with a three-game SEC winning streak, a lot of momentum, and aimed to stop No. 4 LSU from improving to 20-0 on the season. 

It couldn't.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Crimson Tide hadn't made enough shots, didn't grab enough rebounds, and the Tigers left Coleman Coliseum with a dominating 38-point win, 89-51.

"The biggest positive we're going to take away from tonight is that it is over at midnight," Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said.

The separation occurred in the second quarter, when LSU outscored Alabama 28-7. The Crimson Tide shot 16 percent from the field, and was just 1-for-8 from 3-point range in the quarter. 

The score at the half was 47-18, including a buzzer-beater 3-pointer by the Tigers.

Alabama looked like a nervous team early on offense, missing wide open shots and going 10-for-25 on layups, with a lot of those being good looks.

""I thought they shot the ball well and had balance throughout the score sheet," Curry said. "We can sit here and try to figure it out — but we're just gonna hit reset."

Another stat that LSU dominated was points off turnovers. LSU had a 16-15 turnover advantage, but a 22-8 point differential on turnovers. Moreover, 13 of those 22 points came in the second half.

LSU also dominated the paint, with the 42-22 advantage on the inside really hurting Alabama throughout the game.

Brittany Davis was held to 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting, including 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. She still led the team in points, as there was no other player in double-digits.

On a positive note, the effort on defense was there for Alabama despite giving up 89 points. 

LSU's leading scorer Angel Reese was held to just 14 points, a season low. However, the void was filled by her teammates as three other players topped 15 points.

Karly Weathers showed a lot of hustle in her 20 minutes of play, putting up four points, three rebounds, and three assists. Sarah Ashlee Barker was also good in the third quarter. She had nine points with four rebounds before fouling out early in the fourth. 

Alabama won't have too much time to dwell on the loss as it visits a team it has struggled against lately, Arkansas, on Thursday, and subsequently hosts South Carolina on Sunday.