Even though she is known more for her defense, Shaquera Wade put on a show offensively on Wednesday.
In her final season opener for the Alabama women’s basketball team, the senior finished with 20 points, the most she’s scored since March 1, 2017, in the Crimson Tide’s 88-40 win against Southeastern Louisiana.
Her strong day started on Alabama’s fourth possession. She caught a pass from Cierra Johnson in the corner and fired from deep, hitting her first of two 3-pointers. She then made a steal around half court and sprinted ahead for a layup.
“I just came out with a lot of energy today, since the start of shootaround,” Wade said. “I think my energy impacted that… I took advantage of the defense.”
She also finished with the most points she’s ever scored in a season opener, passing her previous best from her sophomore season.
In her second start as a member of the Crimson Tide, forward Jasmine Walker finished with her first collegiate double-double, finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds in her 27 minutes.
“It feels good to know that I was going to get every rebound I possibly could,” Walker said.
The Crimson Tide had five players in double figures, while the Lady Lions had just one.
It didn’t take Alabama long to put Southeastern Louisiana away, as it reached the Lady Lions’ final score total with 1:56 left in the second quarter.
The Crimson Tide outscored the Lady Lions every quarter by at least seven, with the largest difference coming in the second quarter.
Alabama shot 45 percent (28 of 62) while holding Southeastern Louisiana to just 19.4 percent (13 of 67).
The Lady Lions scored only 12 of its 40 points from inside the 3-point arc, including an 0-for-8 mark in the third quarter and 1-for-5 in the first quarter. The Crimson Tide’s starters outscored the Lady Lions 48-18.
“I thought that Ariyah (Copeland) really came in and gave us a presence fundamentally inside,” Alabama coach Kristy Curry said. “I thought we were able to get the ball consistently to the rim. We wanted to play inside out.”
Copeland started the second half for Curry’s squad because Ashley Knight was dealing with a minor foot injury.
Alabama hits the road for its next two games before coming home to play Clemson on Nov. 19.
