Alabama Women’s Basketball Defeats West Alabama in Exhibition, 73-31

Led by senior Shafontaye Myers’ 19 points and a stingy defense, the Alabama Crimson Tide women’s basketball team cruised to a 73-31 victory over West Alabama in exhibition action Monday night at Foster Auditorium.

“It was good for us to see a different color jersey,” said Alabama head coach Kristy Curry. “It was also good to get into a game environment with the lights and the fans.”

The Tide defense forced 36 turnovers and limited West Alabama to only 27.7 percent shooting from the field. On the other end, Myers and sophomore Nikki Hegstetter (12 points) paced an Alabama offense that saw 10 different players score.

Alabama scored the game’s first points when junior Daisha Simmons’ layup went through with 18:23 to play in the first half. The Tide would not relinquish the lead from that point on. After West Alabama got on the board to cut the lead to 9-2 with 16:22 remaining in the first half, Alabama went on a 16-0 run. The Tide stretched the margin to 30 late in the first half before taking a 41-13 lead into halftime.

After the break, the Tide continued its stifling defense, holding West Alabama to 24 percent field goal percentage in the second half. Alabama also utilized its bench, as 12 players saw action for Tide.

Myers’ 19 points came on 6-of-14 shooting from the field, including 2-of-6 on three-pointers. She also led the Tide with five of the team’s 19 steals. Hegstetter shot 4-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe and pulled down four rebounds. Simmons, the top returning scorer, tallied six points, seven rebounds and three steals.

“I was pleased overall,” added Curry. “There are still some things that we need to improve on and need to work through, free throws and rebounding, and we only had nine assists. We need to learn to trust each other more. I was pleased with our energy and effort. Their heart is in the right place, and that is all you can ask for.”

Next up, Alabama opens its regular season on Friday, Nov. 8, at Chattanooga. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.