Abrams' Last-Second Shot Lifts Alabama Women's Basketball Over Wake Forest
Tie game. 12 seconds to play. What more can you ask for?
On Wednesday afternoon, senior Megan Abrams hit one of the most clutch shots of her career — an and-one with just four seconds remaining in the game to push Alabama (3-2) over Wake Forest (3-3) by a final score of 61-58.
"I'm just really proud of our team," Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said. "I think that's what really good teams do, is find a way to win games that are a little ugly at times. I just complimented our team on making plays down the stretch."
Abrams was the Crimson Tide's leading scorer in the game as well, scoring 14 points on a very efficient 5-for-7 shooting from the floor.
The win comes at a huge time for Alabama, breaking a two-game losing skid after falling on the road at South Florida last week and losing to No. 17 Utah on Monday on the first game of the Pink Flamingo Championships in the Bahamas.
The Crimson Tide now gets to head back home with a win under its belt — and a hard-fought one, at that.
Alabama had two other players in double-figures scoring for the game — senior Brittany Davis with 12 and senior Jada Rice with 11. Davis overcame a slow start in which she only had two first half points, while Rice was the story of the first half with 10 of her points coming on 5-for-5 shooting.
"[Jada] is just wanting to do everything she possibly can to grow and get better," Curry said. "It's been her effort and her energy. [...] She has really tried to take some things to heart on how she can help our team."
The Crimson Tide struggled offensively out of the gate and trailed Wake Forest 18-10 after the first quarter. Alabama missed its first seven shots from beyond the arc, but shot 35 percent from deep for the remainder of the game.
"It was a slow start, but it wasn't poor effort," Curry said. "We just missed shots. I kept telling them to keep shooting and let the game come to them on the offensive end, we can control our effort on the defensive end. I thought we dug deep and got some stops with a lot of grit there down the stretch."
The offense found its footing in the second and third quarters, scoring 16 and 22 points in the quarters, respectively. This lead to a three-point lead entering the fourth and an exciting back-and-forth affair in the closing minutes of the game.
After posting a 1-1 record in the Bahamas, Alabama now heads home for its first game in Coleman Coliseum since the opening week of the season. Alabama will take on Gardner-Webb at home on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+.
How It Happened:
(most recent update at the top)
Final stats:
Fourth Quarter
- FINAL: Alabama defeats Wake Forest 61-58
- Abrams scores with four seconds to go. Alabama leads 61-58.
- Wake Forest ties the game at 58. Alabama calls timeout with 12 seconds to go.
- Abrams goes 1-for-2 from the free throw line. Alabama leads 58-56 with 17 seconds left.
- Barber immediately gives Alabama the lead back. The Crimson Tide leads 57-56.
- Wake Forest takes a 56-55 lead with one minute remaining.
- Curry calls timeout with two minutes remaining. Alabama still leads 55-52.
- Mingo-Young hits two free throws to extend the Alabama lead to 55-52.
- With four minutes to play, Alabama leads 53-52 after a McQueen coast-to-coast layup.
- Davis gets a layup to go to retake the lead. Alabama leads 51-50.
- Wake Forest opened the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run and has held Alabama scoreless through three minutes. Wake Forest leads 50-48.
Third Quarter
- At the end of the third quarter, Alabama leads Wake Forest 48-45 after a last-second three from the Demon Deacons.
- A Mingo-Young jumper pushes the Alabama lead to 46-38 with two minutes remaining in the quarter.
- Alabama has outscored Wake Forest 15-10 in the third quarter so far and leads 41-38 at the third quarter media timeout.
- A 3-pointer from Nye ties Alabama's largest lead of the day and gives Alabama a 37-34 lead.
- Davis goes 1-for-2 from the free throw line but puts Alabama ahead 32-31 with seven minutes remaining in the quarter.
- Davis gets Alabama's first points of the half on a layup inside. Wake Forest leads 29-28.
Halftime stats:
Second Quarter
- HALFTIME: Wake Forest leads Alabama 28-26.
- Abrams gets an and-one layup to go to give Alabama the lead for the first time in the game.
- McQueen ties the game at 23 with her first points of the game.
- At the second quarter media timeout, Wake Forest leads 23-21. Rice has 10 points now on perfect shooting.
- Rice now has eight points in the game on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting from the floor. Wake Forest leads 23-19.
- Barber knocks down her first three of the game to cut the lead again. Wake Forest leads 18-15.
- Rice opens the quarter with a layup off a pick-and-roll to cut the lead down to 18-12.
First Quarter
- Wake Forest ended the first quarter on an 8-1 run and leads Alabama 18-10 entering the second.
- Wake Forest is on a quick 5-0 run to take a 14-9 lead.
- Abrams knocks down Alabama's first 3-pointer of the game to tie the game at 9 apiece.
- At the first quarter media timeout Wake Forest leads 9-6 after a quick 4-0 run.
- Rice breaks the scoring drought for Alabama and now has four points in the game. Alabama leads 6-5.
- Both teams are cold in the Bahamas, shooting 25 percent or below from the floor. Wake Forest leads 5-4 halfway through the first quarter.
- Alabama's first points come from a Barker layup. Alabama trails Wake Forest 3-2.
Pregame
- Alabama will use its same starting five from its last game: Hannah Barber, Sarah Ashlee Barker, Brittany Davis, Aaliyah Nye and Jada Rice.
See also:
Alabama Women's Basketball Drops First Game in the Bahamas 93-86 against No. 17 Utah
Alabama Women's Basketball Drops First Game of the Season at USF
Alabama Women's Basketball's Offense Falters in Second Half as Davis Goes Quiet
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