__________________________________________________
Women's Basketball Defeats Georgia 64-50
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Daniel Melograna
It was victory number 11 for the Alabama Crimson Tide women's basketball team yesterday. Bama defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 64-50 in front of a record 3,732 crowd at Foster Auditorium.
"The crowd was incredible," Alabama women's head basketball coach KRISTY CURRY said. "I am so proud. To see this crowd out here made our kids happy. It's just incredible. It really does make a difference, and I appreciate them so much."
Sophomore KARYLA MIDDLEBROOK pumped in 17 points, matching her career-high. Senior NIKKI HEGSTETTER had 10 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double in the contest. The Tide improves to 13-5 overall, 2-3 in the SEC. Georgia slides to 13-5, 1-4 SEC.
Also scoring in double figures for the Tide was sophomore HANNAH COOK with 14 points. Sophomore QUANETRIA BOLTON led with three blocks in the contest, and put up six points, two rebounds as well as two steals in just 15 minutes of play.
The Crimson Tide shot 37.7 percent on the day, while Georgia was 27.3 percent. Alabama hit 21 of 26 field goals and outscored the Dogs 26-8 in the paint.
Hegstetter commented, "I think your crowd is your biggest advantage at home. That's why I think you see the biggest upsets at home. Because, you feed off the crowd. You play for the crowd. They're there. They came
and took time out of their day to watch you. That's really important and
special. I think that we fed off of that, and it helped us down the
stretch to get key stops. They're helping us that much more, and we
really appreciate it. We're playing for them, and we want to see them
back out there."
Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Daniel Melograna
--------------------------------------------------
Women's Tennis Takes Another Five
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
The Alabama women's tennis team captured two doubles wins and three singles victories yesterday on the final day of the Wildcat Duals. The event is hosted by Northwestern University in Evanston, Indiana.
The pairing of freshman ANDIE DANIELL and junior ERIN ROUTLIFFE and well as teaming JOANNA NENA SAVVA and DANIELLE SPIELMANN brought the two doubles wins for the Crimson Tide.
Bringing home the singles victories were Daniell, Savva and NATALIA MAYNETTO.
The Crimson Tide will host Penn, Purdue and Texas this Saturday, January 23rd. This match is part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, and is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. CT.
--------------------------------------------------
Bama Gymnastics Beat Auburn
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
Victory is always sweet, but even sweeter when it's over your in-state rival. The Alabama gymnastics squad captured the win a the second annual Elevate The Stage meet yesterday, topping the Tigers 196.875 to 196.075 in the BJCC Legacy Arena. Tide gymnastics has now won twice in a little over 48 hours, and captured its third meet in only eight days.
Crimson Tide head coach DANA DUCKWORTH said, This is the kind of performance we’re going to need to advance at the national championships. It was the kind of performance where everybody is nervous,
everybody wants the same thing, but we just have to focus on one thing
at a time."
Bama used 13 gymnasts in it's lineup against Auburn on Sunday.
"We just continue to build our depth and that’s
going to help us down the road. The more people we
have with competitive experience, especially in this kind of
environment, the better off we’re going to be."
Head over to RollTide.com for a breakdown on winners and scores. Hit the link.
Alabama will host the Arkansas Razorbacks this coming Friday, January 22nd.
--------------------------------------------------
Alabama Cheer Squads Earn Top-3 Finishes
Alabama Cheer Squads
Photo Credit: RollTide.com
It was a big weekend for both University of Alabama cheer squads. Both the all-girl and coed cheer squads placed in the top-three this past weekend at the Universal Cheerleading Association national championship in Orlando Florida. The Alabama coed squad placed third and the all-girl team was the national runner-up in the competition.
Positions flipped this year as compared to last year as the all-girl team finished runner-up to national champion Indiana University. The Tide defeated the Hoosiers last year for their first national title, while this year's win gives Indiana three titles in the past four years.
The Crimson Tide coed team was also defending a national title from last season. This year's third-place finish comes behind second-place UCF and title-winners Kentucky.
Cheer head coach JENNIFER THRASHER said, "We are obviously disappointed that it’s not a top finish for
both teams, but anytime you have a
chance to compete for the University of Alabama you are proud to
represent the Crimson Tide family. We worked hard but came up a little
short. We are still very proud to finish in the top three in both
divisions. A lot of credit to Indiana and Kentucky, they are both
excellent programs."
The competition was a three-day affair taking place at ESPN's Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida. Teams from all across the nation were competing at the HP Fieldhouse and were judged based on stunting, tumbling skills, crowd-leading abilities and overall performance.
