TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama women’s basketball team defeated Alabama A&M 60-32 on Monday night in Foster Auditorium. The win moves the Crimson Tide to 2-3 on the season, while the Bulldogs drop to 0-4.
Nikki Hegstetter led all scorers with 13 points. Shafontaye Myers had 12 points, Oceana Hamilton added 11, and Ashley Williams had 10. Daisha Simmons had a career-best nine assists and pulled down seven rebounds.
Alabama A&M was by Alyssa Strickland, who had 10 points, and Alganese Gatson, who had a game-high 10 rebounds.
Simmons’ 3-pointer was part of a 10-0 run to start the game by Alabama, which never trailed. The Tide held the Bulldogs scoreless until the 15-minute, 22-second mark of the first half and led by as many as 29. Alabama continued to lead throughout the second half, not allowing Alabama A&M to get any closer than 18.
“We had an advantage inside,” Alabama coach Kristy Curry said. “We always want to go inside out. Some of the shots we hit in the first half were because we’ve had some paint touches. We’re in a physical league, and we’ve got to learn to be more physical inside and take advantage of the five post player rotation that we have.”
Alabama was 23 of 58 from the field and 7 of 21 from 3-point range, while Alabama A&M was 11 of 54 shots from the field and 2 of 17 from beyond the arc. Alabama had a 44-37 rebounding edge, had 18 assists, and eight blocked shots.
Alabama will travel to Moraga, Calif., for the Saint Mary’s College Hilton Concord Thanksgiving Classic where it will take on Saint Mary’s at 4 p.m. Friday and Cal State Fullerton at 2 p.m. Saturday.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.