TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Junior Ashley Williams had 19 points and 12 rebounds Thursday night to lead the Alabama women’s basketball team to an 81-57 victory against Mercer in the first round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament at Coleman Coliseum.
With the win, the Crimson Tide (20-13) secured its first 20-win season since the 1998-99 campaign.
“I was really pleased with our kids,” Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said. “It’s a hard week in the fact that you have so much time from when you’ve finished your (conference) tournament. Everybody else is on spring break having a fun time, and we are practicing. I really have a lot of respect, especially for these two (Ashley Williams and Hannah Cook) for their leadership this week. It’s just a testament to how much our kids want to win and continue to grow the program and be successful. We learned how it felt a year ago losing at Tulane. To get a 20th win today is a step forward, and I’m real proud of our team.”
Juniors Quanetria Bolton (14) and Cook (10), sophomore Shaquera Wade (12), and freshman Jordan Lewis (10) also reached double figures. Williams’ 12 rebounds also were a game high, while Lewis had a game-best seven assists. Junior Meoshonti Knight finished with a career-high three blocked shots.
Juniors Kahlia Lawrence had 19 points to lead the Bears (25-7), while classmate Sydni Means had 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Williams played a solid opening 10 minutes had seven points (3-for-3 from the field) and five rebounds in the first 10 minutes to help Alabama break out to an early lead. The Crimson Tide outscored the Bears 14-7 in a five-minute span to pull away, 29-15. Alabama remained in front by double digits until late in the quarter when the Bears closed out the half with 11 unanswered points o cut the deficit to 33-30 at halftime.
Alabama used a 14-4 push in the middle of the third quarter to build a 56-40 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Crimson Tide strung together 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.
Alabama shot 51.7 percent (31-for-60) from the field, while Mercer shot 33.3 percent (27-for-81). The Tide outrebounded the Bears 48-38, and scored 44 points in the paint compared to Mercer’s 12.
Alabama will play host to Little Rock at 2 p.m. Sunday in the second round of the WNIT.
n Grambling State 78, Ole Miss 75: At Oxford, Taylor Manuel had a season-high 28 points Thursday, but the Rebels couldn’t rally from a 15-point deficit in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday night at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Shandricka Sessom added 18 points, while Shequila Joseph had 11 rebounds to lead the Rebels (17-14).
“We didn’t play well, didn’t play hard in the first half,” Ole Miss coach Matt Insell said. “We let them get going shooting the basketball. I told our kids if they get going shooting the basketball, they’re a good team. They won their league and we let them get comfortable. We didn’t guard all night long. There’s a lot of positive on this season, but it’s frustrating to lose.”
Ole Miss fought back to take its first lead since the opening minutes of the game on a basket from Sessom at the 7-minute, 17-second mark of the fourth quarter. From that point, the score never got more than one possession for either team. Ole Miss led 75-72 with 1:51 remaining, but Grambling sealed the win with a 6-0 run.
“There are a lot of highlights (to the season),” Insell said. “I saw some growth from players. I saw some kids take major strides in their games. That’s where it’s exciting for me. We had wins over Tennessee, Texas A&M, Oregon, got beat by 25 by Auburn and came back and beat them here. Those are positive things.”
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