Alabama women’s basketball puts the pressure on Texas A&M

Alabama’s defense? Relentless.

The Crimson Tide’s rebounding? Dominant.

Offensive performance? Otherworldly.

The Alabama women’s basketball team did everything right against Texas A&M on Saturday. The result was an impressive 88-49 win.

The game changed on a dime after the first four minutes. Alabama pressed, which led to 12 points off five straight turnovers. Alabama went on a 17-0 run to lead 21-6. The Crimson Tide was 5 of 7 on 3-pointers in the opening quarter with five different players connecting.

“When you have good ball movement and find the open person it really helps us knock down threes,” Alabama’s Aaliyah Nye said. “We had a lot of ball movement tonight and we were able to find those open looks.”

Alabama (21-5, 8-4 SEC) outplayed Texas A&M in every way, winning on rebounding (35-31), forced turnovers (15 to 9), shooting percentage (55% to 34%), 3-point shooting percentage (57% to 0%), blocks (5 to 1) and points off turnovers (26 to 8).

Alabama mostly dominated the Aggies with intensity, being strong in the paint and speed. Alabama is riding a four-game win streak, outscoring opponents 81-58 during that stretch.

“This is the time of the year where urgency is important,” Alabama coach Kristy Curry said of the upcoming postseason. “You have to have some toughness and grit. It’s not always about the X’s and O’s. Your will has to be stronger than your skill at this point.”

Sarah Ashlee Barker scored 18 points to lead Alabama. Zaay Green hit for 16 points and was 4 of 5 on 3-pointers. Aaliyah Nye had 15 points while Essence Cody scored 10. Karly Weathers had 10 rebounds. All five players exited the game after the third quarter with the Crimson Tide up by 40 points.

“It was really fun,” Nye said of watching the bench players take the court in the fourth quarter. “We don’t get to sit on the bench. When we do, we like to cheer on our teammates and we love to see them succeed.”

The Crimson Tide hits the road to face Tennessee on Sunday.