by SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Alabama women’s basketball team dropped a hard-fought contest at Syracuse, 79-73, Thursday night in the ACC/SEC Challenge at JMA Wireless Dome.
Sarah Ashlee Barker led the Crimson Tide (7-2) with 18 points and eight assists, while Aalyiah Nye scored 17 points and added five steals. Essence Cody also reached double digits as she set a career-high with 14 points while pulling down a game-high nine rebounds.
The Orange (6-1) were led by Alyssa Latham (23 points and 12 rebounds) and Kyra Wood (10 points and 13 rebounds) each picking up a double double.
Head Coach Kristy Curry Postgame Comments
“Credit to Syracuse, they were able to make some plays down the stretch. I thought our bench play was poor, but overall thought we played poorly as far as rebounding the basketball. It was atrocious and something we continue to talk about, work on and continue to coach, but you can’t get outrebounded by 22 on the road and expect to win basketball games.”
Game Stats
- The contest marked the first ever meeting between the two programs
- The Orange shot 49 percent (29-59) from the floor, 50 percent (7-14) from three and 82 percent (14-17) from the line
- In comparison, Alabama shot 41 percent (27-66) from the floor, 48 percent (10-21) from beyond the arc and 60 percent (9-15) from the charity stripe
- Syracuse dominated the boards, outrebounding the Tide, 47-25
- UA forced 24 turnovers, including 12 steals, converting those into 25 points
- Essence Cody scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half
