Big First Half Enough in Dominant Alabama Women's Basketball Win

Crimson Tide ends two-game skid with blowout of Georgia behind Nye's 22 first-half points.

Alabama guard Aaliyah Nye (32) led the Crimson Tide with 22 points in a 72-57 win against Georgia on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. / Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- A couple of stats can tell you all you need to know about the outcome of the Alabama women’s basketball team’s game with Georgia on Sunday. 

• At halftime, Crimson Tide guard Aaliyah Nye had 22 points. That matched the point total for the Bulldogs. 

• Georgia outscored Alabama 20-8 in the third quarter and still trailed by 15. 

The bottom line is Alabama ended a two-game losing streak with a convincing 72-57 win against the Bulldogs. The win snaps a two-game skid for Alabama. 

“I’m proud of the team’s response. Last week was tough, but adversity often rebuilds character and I love our team’s character and how they embraced the challenge this week,” Alabama coach Kristy Curry said. 

The Crimson Tide (18-5, 5-4 SEC) dominated the first quarter, hitting on three straight 3-pointers as part of a 14-2 run. Alabama later went on an 11-1 run in the second quarter. The key was patience. Sarah Ashlee Barker worked the ball around the perimeter, waiting for the defense to break before finding open teammates in the paint or Nye behind the 3-point arc for open looks. Alabama had 18 assists, including eight from Barker. 

“We knew coming in we were going to have to share the ball because they run a zone defense,” Nye said. “I think we did a really good job with passing the ball and finding the open person.” 

Alabama was an impressive 8 of 15 from 3-point range—Nye had six of them--and 18 of 28 (64%) overall. It was aggressive defense on the other end that resulted in 10 first-half Georgia turnovers and 33% shooting from the field, including 0-for-8 from 3-point range.  

"We did a really nice job of getting our defense set early,” Curry said. “When you get some nice stops and score points in transition, you put yourself in great position to be more more efficient on offense.” 

It was a different story in the second half. Nye was a non-factor taking just three shots and failed score, the 3-point shooting disappeared (0-for-5) and turnovers were the norm (10). Despite the breakdowns, the 27-point halftime cushion was enough to prevent any chance of a Georgia comeback. 

“That’s just the SEC,” Curry said of the second-half struggle. “We played a great first half and they were not going to go away. That’s more of a credit to Georgia than what we didn’t do.” 

Essence Cody was second in scoring behind Nye with 17 points and led the way with 13 rebounds. Barker had nine points with eight assists and Diana Collins had nine points. 

For Georgia (9-18, 1-8 SEC), Asia Avinger scored 15 points while Miyah Verse and Mia Woolfork each had 10. 

Next up for Alabama is a road game with Florida on Thursday. 

See also: Three Takeaways From Alabama Basketball's Blowout Win Over Georgia

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