Women's Basketball Falls To Missouri

The Alabama women's basketball team closed out the regular season with an 88-64 loss to Missouri on Sunday in Foster Auditorium. The Crimson Tide now stands at 12-17 overall and 2-14 against Southeastern Conference opponents, while the Tigers improve to 17-13 on the season and 6-10 in the league.

“We are battling not playing together as a team,” said Alabama Coach Wendell Hudson. “It’s contagious when we start slipping. I give Missouri a lot of credit. Watching them play, sharing the basketball, making the passes and the baskets, especially making the baskets and playing hard on every play. They had 23 assists, which tells you that they were sharing the basketball with everybody on the team. They made the extra passes and made their shots. I think that’s a big deal, to understand how you fit in and how you play.”

The Tigers shot 46.4 per cent for the game, which included 13 three pointers. In addition, Missouri had 53 rebounds, 38 of which came on the defensive glass.

The game started out close with the teams trading baskets until Missouri used a 25-2 run to pull in front 36-14 at the 5:50 mark. From there, Alabama was able to cut its deficit to 15, but the Tigers knocked down another three pointer before the break to lead the Tide 41-23 at the half.

Missouri continued to distance itself from Alabama in the second half, leading by as many as 32 in the game.

Sophomore Daisha Simmons would finish as the Tide’s top scorer with 17 points in addition to three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal. Junior Jasmine Robinson contributed 11 points and five rebounds while freshman Nikki Hegstetter pulled down a team-high six rebounds. For the Tigers, junior Bri Kulas led both teams in scoring, collecting 23 points and 14 rebounds. Aiding in Missouri’s win were seniors Liz Smith and Liene Priede both recording 11 points each.

Alabama will now take on Mississippi State in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday at the Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga. The game will tip at 5 p.m. CST and will air on Fox Sports South.