Alabama women's basketball offense sputters in blowout loss to LSU, sees season lows
Alabama women’s basketball struggled on offense in an 89-51 loss to LSU on Monday at Coleman Coliseum.
The Crimson Tide shot 29% from the field and 19% from deep, both season lows, along with points scored. Alabama started the game 1 of 13 from deep and made only eight shots in the first half.
The Crimson Tide (14-5, 4-3 SEC) kept it close during the first quarter but the Tigers (20-0, 8-0) ran away in the second quarter as they outscored Alabama 28-7. Alabama was unable to make up any ground in the second half but was able to limit the damage.
The Crimson Tide was led by Brittany Davis with 11 points and seven rebounds, and Sarah Ashlee Barker with nine points and four rebounds. The Tigers are ranked No. 4 in the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll.
Alabama struggles with layups
The Crimson Tide attempted eight layups and only made three during the opening frame before missing the first four layups of the second quarter. LSU wasn’t making them easy, blocking four shots. Alabama finished 10 of 28 on layups and struggled to get to the foul line on misses.
Layups weren’t the only issue for the Crimson Tide on offense but at times they were the most glaring.
"I thought we missed a couple of layups there in the second that were uncontested and we allowed it to become contagious ... we kind of allowed that to Dominio on us," Kristy Curry said. "I don't want to take anything away from LSU's defense, we have to be tough enough to finish."
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Defensive struggles in transition and paint
The Crimson Tide’s defense didn’t make it easy for LSU but struggled in two major areas: in the paint and in transition. Alabama's main problem was once again in transition, where they let up 24 points, including 20 off of turnovers. In the paint, the Tigers had 42 of their points and outrebounded the Crimson Tide by 12. The Tigers had 16 offensive rebounds for 17 second-chance points.
Alabama shows fights early, can’t hit shots
The Crimson Tide was not going to go down without a fight early on. Alabama drew three early charges that led to points. Alabama was trailing after the first quarter, mostly because they struggled to hit shots. The Crimson Tide went 5 of 20 from the field to start. Hannah Barber and Brittany Davis combined to go 1 for 9, including 0 of 6 from 3-point range.
Up next
Alabama will travel to Arkansas (17-5, 4-3) on Thursday (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network).
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama women's basketball struggles in loss to LSU
