Nov. 4, 2009

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The women's basketball team dropped a heartbreaker to North Alabama, 68-67, in an exhibition game at Coleman Coliseum Wednesday night. The Crimson Tide led for the entire second half until the Lions' Niala Harris drove to the basket and converted a layup with 0:03 left to give North Alabama the lead and the victory.

"This was an exhibition game, but I definitely want to win every game that we can win," head coach Wendell Hudson. "We shot the ball 79 times. That's something I want the team to continue to do. If we had shot a better percentage than what we shot, then the game is over. Anytime you're in a basketball game, you've got to hold the other team down. I thought North Alabama did a very good job of shooting and knocking down open shots."

Alabama led by as many as 17 points in the second half, but the Lions clawed back into the game with free throws and three-point shooting, eventually tying the game at 56-56 with 5:28 remaining.

The Tide answered with five straight points from junior college transfer LaToya King to push the lead back to five, but the Lions would not go away, staying close by making 4-5 free throws in the final four minutes.

King finished with 14 points on 6-9 shooting in her debut for the Tide, while junior Tierney Jenkins dominated the paint, posting a huge double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds. For the game, Alabama out-rebounded North Alabama 59-42 and outscored the Lions 27-2 on second-chance points. North Alabama was able to stay close by making 25-32 free throws and sinking seven three-pointers compared to one for the Tide.

Neither team shot particularly well from the field as Alabama finished at 34.2 percent (27-79), while UNA shot 32.7 percent (18-55) on field goals.

"I think the biggest thing to take from this is if we're going to have a chance to be a good basketball team, we've got to have everybody playing hard on both ends of the court all the time," Hudson added. "There's no room for this team to not play hard against any opponent. Sometimes you need a situation like this, especially when it's not really costing you anything, to get all the players' minds focused on what is important."

The game remained tight with four ties and three lead changes through the first 11 minutes of the first half, but the Tide went on a 13-2 run to push a one point lead to 32-20 with 3:22 left. Alabama maintained that margin, entering the break with a 41-29 lead after Jenkins converted a basket and the free throw with 0:03 remaining. Jenkins nearly had her double-double before the break with 12 points and eight boards prior to intermission to lead the Tide. The Alabama defense held North Alabama without a field goal from the 12:55 mark to the 3:51 mark of the first frame as the Lions shot just 28 percent from the field.

Five North Alabama players finished in double figures led by Lacy Lewis and Meardith Sanqueeta with 14 points each. Harris scored 11 points including the game-winner.

Alabama will hold its Crimson and White intra-squad scrimmage on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2:00 p.m. (CST) in Coleman Coliseum. The Tide kicks off regular season action in the Islander Tip-Off Tournament against Tennessee Tech on Friday, Nov. 13 at 5:00 p.m. in Corpus Christi, Texas.