Bama Women's Basketball Beats Mississippi Valley State
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| Alabama vs Mississippi Valley State Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Following the game, Crimson Tide head coach Kristy Curry said, "I think it's often that coaches look at not only how you lose but how you win. I really thought there was a big difference in how we won the game tonight. We've really improved in a couple of days. I didn't like the way we won the other night. I think our kids really responded on some improvement areas. For whatever reason, great teams find ways to win, but the great ones also improve from wins. You can learn a lot, and I thought our kids really learned a lot the past couple of days in some effort and energy areas."
Also scoring in double figures for the Tide was freshman Ashley Knight, who scored 12 points in her second straight game, junior Hannah Cook, who contributed 11 points, and junior Quanetria Bolton, who who pumped in 10 points. A total of seven players recorded two or more assists for Bama, while eight players picked up at least one steal. The duo of Bolton and Knight were responsible for nine of Alabama's 12 blocks in the contest.
Alabama hit 52.5 percent (32-61) of its attempts from the floor, while Mississippi Valley State made 21.9 percent (14-64) for the game. Bama outrebounded State 55-39 as well as outscoring the Devilettes 46-12 in the paint. Players coming off the bench contributed 32 points for the Tide.
Curry commented, "We really had great balance. To have five in double figures and two with eight, that's a game win. We got a lot tougher and stronger and increased the lead and increased the rebound margin. Credit to our kids. I thought these three [Jordan Lewis, Shaquera Wade and Ashley Knight] were just outstanding. It was a great team effort."
The Crimson Tide will play its third game in only a week on this Thursday when hosting Lipscomb at Coleman Coliseum. Game time is 7 p.m. CT and will air on the SEC Network +.
| Game Stats | MVSW | UA |
|---|---|---|
| FG% | .219 | .525 |
| 3FG% | .143 | .500 |
| FT% | .500 | .611 |
| RB | 39 | 55 |
| TO | 22 | 19 |
| STL | 14 | 12 |
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
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What Saban Said In Monday's Press Briefing
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
In his opening statement, Saban said, "Well I don't really have any different comments than I had after the game. From a Mississippi State standpoint, we obviously did some good things in the game. We made a lot of explosive plays on offense, and executed in the passing game more efficiently and effectively. Defensively, we made stops when we needed to when they made plays. Their offense requires a tremendous amount of discipline for everyone to do their job. When we had little lapses here and there, they were able to make a few plays, but we were able to get them stopped for the most part when we needed to. Special-teams wise, I think there are areas where we definitely need to improve on. That is something that we certainly want to focus on this week.
"I think that this week - the old Shawshank Redemption statement – 'You're either busy living or you're busy dying' – really kind of means you are not going to stay the same. So, from our perspective, we are either going to get better or we are going to get worse; we are probably not going to stay the same. We need each unit on the team, each group on the team and each individual on the team to take ownership and be responsible for the things they need to do to work this week to improve as a team.
"We are very pleased that Jalen Hurts was named Co-Offensive SEC Player of the Week. You got the players of the week that we have. Chattanooga is a very well-coached team. Russ Huesman has done a really good job there. They are 8-2 and one of the top teams in their division. They have 14 starters returning from last year's team. They basically do a really good job on offense with their quarterback, run-type of stuff and the play action pass game, which is difficult to defend. They really play hard on defense and special teams. This is a game that we need to focus on what we need to do technically to get better as a team, try to go out and play our best game and build on what we did in the last game."
In addition to his opening statement, Saban commented on other issues. One such issue concerned injured senior Alphonse Taylor. Taylor has been trying to recover from a concussion suffered back on October 8th in the win over Arkansas. He said at this point, after five weeks, it's a "medical decision."
Saban said, "I'm not assuming that he will come back," Saban said. "It would be a bonus if he did. I don't think he will based on the amount of time that we've had. It's something that we're still evaluating but it's not something we're counting on."
Running back Bo Scarbrough continues to battle back from a sprained knee he suffered during the November 5th victory over LSU. The sophomore was held out of this past Saturday's contest with Mississippi State, but did dress out in case he was needed. Saban he decided to hold Scarbrough out of the contest since the game well well in-hand throughout, to the tune of a 51-3 Alabama win.
Concerning Scarbrough, Sabin said, "Medically, we think he's okay. He just has to go out there right now and get himself back in condition and develop confidence in what he needs to do. Like I always say, it's not just about what the doctor says. It's also about what the player says. Hopefully he'll be able to make enough progress in that area this week to be able to come back and contribute in the game."
Saban commented that Tony Brown did "a nice job" this past Saturday. He also said, however, that there were still some areas in which Brown needed work, such as being a disciplined player, but the young man was making progress.
Being very complimentary of Korren Kirven, Saban said that Kirven had developed into a good player and was, in fact, one of "our top five offensive linemen."
Saban said that there needed to be improvement on the special teams in certain areas. He commented that it would be an area of emphasis in practices this week.
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Alabama Men's Golf
Davis Riley Finishes Sixth In Latest Tournament
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| Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Riley had previously been in third place after shooting a three-under 68 in the opening round, but had then tumbled into a tie for seventh place going into the final 18 holes. Following a difficult start in the final round that included two bogeys on the front nine, Riley landed three birdies and an eagle to shoot three-under par in the final nine holes of the tournament.
Sam Burns of the LSU Tigers took the victory in the event, shooting a 201 over 54 holes.
In order to compete in the competition student-athletes must have been named as an All-America team honoree during the previous year as well the U.S. Amateur Champion or Runner Up with collegiate eligibility.
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UA Football Coaching Staff Recognizes 11 Players
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| Graphics/Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Following the Alabama Crimson Tide's 51-3 beat-down of the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium last Saturday, 11 players were recognized by the Alabama coaching staff for their outstanding play. On offense, the Tide staff selected Bradley Bozeman, O.J. Howard, Jalen Hurts and Jonah Williams. Chosen from the defense it was Ryan Anderson, Da'Ron Payne and Dalvin Tomlinson. Named from the special teams it was Adam Griffith, Keith Holcombe, JK Scott and Levi Wallace.
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Jalen Hurts SEC Co-Offensive Player Of The Week
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Jalen Hurts SEC Co-Offensive Player Of The Week
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| Alabama freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts Photo Credit: Alabama Athletics |
Jalen Hurts has received yet another honor. The University of Alabama true freshman quarterback has been named SEC
co-Offensive Player of the Week. Hurts received the honor this week along with LSU running back Derrius
Guice.
Hurts became the first player in Crimson Tide football history to both run for 100 yards and pass for more than 300 yards in the same game in the Alabama 51-3 shellacking of Mississippi State contest.
What a day the young man had, finishing with 28 completions of 37 passing attempts for 347 yards and four touchdowns. Hurts also recorded 100 rushing yards and one touchdown, for a total of five touchdowns in the contest.
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Week 12 College Football Game Odds
Here's a look at the odds for games for this coming weekend:
Ohio State (-21.5) at Michigan State
Indiana at Michigan (-25.5)
Clemson (-21.5) at Wake Forest
Wisconsin (-27) at Purdue
Arizona State at Washington (-25)
Oklahoma (-3) at West Virginia
Penn State (-27) at Rutgers
Oregon at Utah (-12)
Washington State at Colorado (-3.5)
Oklahoma State at TCU (-4)
Buffalo at Western Michigan (-35)
USC (-10.5) at UCLA
Florida at LSU (-14)
Florida State (-20.5) at Syracuse
Maryland at Nebraska (-14.5)
UNLV at Boise State (-26)
Texas San Antonio at Texas A&M (-26)
San Diego State (-7.5) at Wyoming
Arkansas State at Troy (-8)
Kent State (-2.5) at Bowling Green
Ohio (-1) at Central Michigan
Northern Illinois (-4) at Eastern Michigan
Arkansas State at Troy (-8)
Memphis (-7) at Cincinnati
Connecticut at Boston College (-7)
Miami Florida (-3) at NC State
Texas Tech (-3) at Iowa State
Iowa (-11.5) at Illinois
Northwestern (-1) at Minnesota
Duke at Pittsburgh (-8)
Texas San Antonio at Texas A&M (-26)
Maryland at Nebraska (-14.5)
Oklahoma (-3) at West Virginia
Massachusetts at BYU (-31)
UL Lafayette at Georgia (-21.5)
San Diego State (-7.5) at Wyoming
New Mexico at Colorado State (-4.5)
Virginia Tech at Notre Dame (-1)
Kansas State (-2.5) at Baylor
Virginia at Georgia Tech (-10.5)
Florida State (-20.5) at Syracuse
Mississippi (-9.5) at Vanderbilt
Texas State at New Mexico State (-9)
Arizona at Oregon State (-7)
Arizona State at Washington (-25)
Washington State at Colorado (-3.5)
Stanford (-11.5) at California
Southern Miss at North Texas (OFF)
Old Dominion (-8) at Florida Atlantic
Marshall (-2) at Florida International
Arkansas at Mississippi State (PK)
Hawaii (-1.5) at Fresno State
South Florida (-14) at SMU
Tulsa (-2.5) at Central Florida
Temple (-15.5) at Tulane
Ohio State (-21.5) at Michigan State
Texas (-22.5) at Kansas
Missouri at Tennessee (-14.5)
Georgia Southern (-3) at Georgia State
Air Force (-11) at San Jose State
Utah State (-4) at Nevada
Navy (-7) at East Carolina
