TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Life lessons are going to be constant teaching points for Kristy Curry this season.
With 10 freshmen and sophomores on the Alabama women’s basketball team’s roster, the third-year head coach knows from experience she will have to remind her players about focus.
Despite the presence of thousands of screaming fifth-graders, Curry had to remind her players about energy and effort several times Monday in a matinee against North Florida.
Fortunately, Alabama heeded the wishes of its coaches long enough to control the tempo for two key stretches to pull away for a 69-47 victory before a crowd of 4,284 at Coleman Coliseum.
“I thought we were not very good from the start,” Curry said. “I guess ugly counts, but we have a lot of improvement we need to continue to do.”
Hannah Cook had a team-high 17 points to lead three players in double figures for Alabama (9-1), which was coming off a 12-point win against Georgetown on Saturday. The focus might not have been there less than 48 hours later for a game against the Ospreys (3-7), a team that was picked last in the Atlantic Sun Conference preseason poll.
The presence of thousands of fifth-graders from Tuscaloosa Area schools in the program’s ninth-annual 5th Grade Fastbreak game also didn’t appear to provide a spark other than a stretch at the end of the second quarter and one to begin the third quarter. Alabama turned up the defensive intensity and picked up the pace in each phase, outscoring North Florida 11-0 each time. The first run gave Alabama a 29-22 halftime lead. The second, which featured steals on four of five possessions, helped the Crimson Tide build a 42-27 lead.
“We feel like that is one area that is always within our control is our energy and our effort,” Curry said. “I was disappointed with our effort on the glass. We got outrebounded today (45-43), but defensively we were able to create some offense from our defense. We obviously weren’t shooting the ball. … We’ve got to shoot the basketball better. Defensively, we feel like that can be our forte and we’re able to get enough stops to put ourselves in a position to create some easy baskets, and that was the difference in the game.”
Sophomore guard Meoshonti Knight (10 points, career-high 10 rebounds for her first double-double) had all of her three steals in the stretch. The Crimson Tide used what appeared to be a 1-2-2 half-court trap to force North Florida (20 turnover) into the mistakes. The increased energy was the key, as Alabama’s effort made it difficult for North Florida to escape the double-teams to skip the ball to the corners for open shooters, especially from behind the 3-point arc. North Florida was 5 of 24 from 3-point range.
“We had a slow start to the first half, so I felt like defensively if we could get some momentum we could push the lead out a little further,” Knight said. “That is what I was trying to do, to kind of give my team energy on defense so we could push the team out.”
Breanna Hayden added 10 points, while Nikki Hegstetter had five points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Hegstetter added four assists and three steals. Cook added three steals, too, including one on a steal in which she dove to the floor and pushed the ball ahead to Karyla Middlebrook for a layup.
Curry said that is the kind of effort she wants to see for 40 minutes from the Crimson Tide, regardless of who they are playing. She credited freshman Shaquera Wade, who left the game at the end of the third quarter after going down awkwardly on her left ankle, and Hayden for their energy at the top of the pressure defense. But Curry also said Alabama has to be more consistent with that effort.
“Even though we were able to create some turnovers with our pressure, I didn’t like our energy and intensity — mentally as much as physically,” Curry said. “We have got to recognize and do a better job of meeting our switches and being active.”
Knight agreed and said the Crimson Tide have to do a better job of attacking the rim. The Crimson Tide did that early, but their cold shooting to start the game (4 of 16 in the first quarter) contributed to the slow start. Curry is confident Alabama will see better and crisper results if it attacks on both ends of the floor. She said that will be a valuable lesson for her players to learn for their careers at Alabama and for the rest of their lives.
“We seemed to have more pop in our step to start (the second half) for whatever reason,” Curry said. “But you can’t pick and choose how hard you work every day in life. We’re trying to teach them this is a means to an end every day. If we pick and choose when we show up to work, we’re not going to be successful professionally. Being the young team we are, we seem to play spurty here lately, or pick and choose.”
Alabama will play at 6 p.m. Friday at Georgia Tech.
n Ole Miss 97, New Orleans 59: At Oxford, Torri Lewis hit a Tad Smith record 10 3-pointers en route to a career-high 36-point performance Monday night to lead the Rebels (6-4).
Lewis had seven of her 10 triples in the first half to record her second career game in double figures, and her second game of 20 or more points. Her 36 points was a three points shy of Peggie Gillom’s record of 39 points at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
“She can really shoot the basketball,” Ole Miss coach Matt Insell said. “I told people she’s one of the best shooters I’ve been around. She’s very young and very fragile at times mentally when it comes to when she misses one and gets down. She didn’t do that tonight. She missed a couple early, but she just kept going. The thing I was more proud of was she got back going.”
The victory helped Ole Miss rebound from a 57-38 loss to Southern Mississippi on Saturday. Ole Miss scored 34 points in the first 10 minutes Monday night.
Shandricka Sessom added 11 points, while Erika Sisk had 10. Freshman Jonell Williams led the way with 10 rebounds, while Shequila Joseph had 10 points and nine rebounds.
n MSU stays No. 9 in The AP poll: At Starkville, the Mississippi State women’s basketball team earned a fifth-straight week in the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25.
Thanks to a 93-63 victory against Louisiana Tech on Sunday, MSU (7-1) remained at No. 9 in its 24th-straight week in the poll.
At 11:30 a.m. today, MSU will hold its annual Christmas Hail State Hoops Luncheon at Mize Pavilion. The cost for the luncheon is $12. Fans can RSVP for the event, which includes a special Christmas presentation by the Bulldogs, by phone (662.325.0198) or email ([email protected]).
MSU plays host to Southern Miss at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Humphrey Coliseum.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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