BATON ROUGE, La. – The Alabama women’s basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit but was outscored by 11 in the final quarter to drop a 48-41 decision at LSU on Sunday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. With the loss, the Crimson Tide moves to 15-8 overall and 3-7 against Southeastern Conference opponents, while the win brings the Tigers to 16-7 on the season and 5-5 in league play.
“We’ve got to play better,” said Alabama head coach Kristy Curry. “Those guys (LSU), down the stretch, were able to find a way to score when we weren’t. We didn’t make enough plays. The numbers show, and the effort shows. It was a complete inability to seize the moment.”
Freshmen Jordan Lewis and Ashley Knight led the way offensively for Alabama with 13 points and nine points, respectively, while junior Ashley Williams led the Tide on the boards with seven. LSU was paced by junior Raigyne Moncrief, who had 19 points, eight rebounds and five steals.
The game was tied in the early goings, however LSU would rattle off 10 straight points over a three-minute span to take a 14-4 lead. Alabama went on to score six of the final nine points of the quarter to cut its deficit to seven, 17-10, at the end of the first.
The Tigers used a 6-3 run at the beginning of the second to push its advantage back out to double digits, but the Tide responded with an 11-1 run to even the game at 24-24 at the 3:32 mark. LSU would tack one on from the free throw line to take a one-point edge into the locker room at the half.
Alabama got off to a quick start in the third, using a 9-2 run to lead, 33-27, with four minutes played. The Tigers countered with six unanswered to even the score, but the Tide would collect six of the last eight points in the frame to pull ahead, 39-35, at quarter’s end.
LSU put up seven straight points in the fourth to go back in front and lead by three with 4:28 to go. Knight got Alabama on the board in the quarter with a jumper at the 4:14 mark, but the Tigers would end the game on a 6-0 run, four of which came from the free throw line, for the victory.
For the game, Alabama shot 29.5 percent (13-44), while LSU was 33.3 percent (17-51) from the field. The Tide outrebounded the Tigers, 40-34, but LSU capitalized on the Alabama miscues, scoring 28 points off turnovers.
The Tide continues its road swing on Thursday when it travels to College Station to take on Texas A&M. The game is slated for a 7 p.m. CT tip on SEC Network +.
