Alabama Women's Basketball Wins Thriller at Arkansas

Talk about clutch. 

The Alabama Crimson Tide women’s basketball team improved to 16-5 and 5-3 in the Southeastern Conference with a huge 69-66 win at No. 24 Arkansas.

Hannah Barber played hero Thursday night as her 3-pointer with eight seconds left, followed by a steal, won the game for Alabama. She finished the game with eight points, four steals, and three assists.

Brittany Davis shrugged off her poor performance against No. 4 LSU by putting up 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting. She also had four rebounds and one assist.

"Our response to Monday night was incredible. Their toughness and grittiness was great," Crimson Tide coach Kristy Curry said.

While Alabama led by as many as 12, Arkansas was able to catch up and make it a back-and-forth game in the second half. 

The Razorbacks primarily attacked the Crimson Tide on the inside, causing multiple players to pick up early fouls. All of the starting five for Alabama had at least three fouls, with four having four fouls.

With the win, Alabama passed Arkansas and moved to fifth in the conference, one game away from the final double-bye fourth spot in the 2023 SEC Tournament. 

How it Happened:

Fourth Quarter:

•  Final box score:

• Officials review it, and say there was no time left. Weird ending to a great game. 69-66 Alabama is the final.

• Hannah Barber steals it, then appears to celebrate too early and travels. 

• Arkansas timeout. They will get the ball under the basket with 2.5 seconds remaining.

• Officials reviewing who touched the ball last, seems like it will be Arkansas ball with 2.5 seconds to go.

• Arkansas misses the shot,  69-66 with 2.4 seconds on the clock.

• Hannah Barber with a huge three to give Alabama the lead. 69-66 with eight seconds left.

• Arkansas ties it up at 66 with 18 seconds left. Alabama calls a timeout.

• Alabama can't get a shot up in time. 39 seconds left, still 66-63. Arkansas timeout.

• 66-63 Alabama with 1:33 left as Arkansas makes their first field goal in three minutes. Alabama timeout.

• Brittany Davis hits the 20 point mark. 66-60 Alabama with 2:22 left.

• Alabama in foul trouble here late in the game: Loyal McQueen and Jada Rice both have four fouls. Something to monitor late in this one.

• McQueen with a layup to bring her point total up to seven. 62-59 Alabama with 3:31 left.

• Loyal McQueen makes two free throws to give Alabama a 60-58 lead with 4:19 left.

• Arkansas makes a one-and-one. 57-56 Alabama with 5:12 left.

• Sarah Ashlee Barker makes a layup to get the lead to four. 57-53 with just under six minutes left.

• Arkansas timeout with 7:21 left. Alabama leads 55-53.

• Karly Weathers makes a layup to open the quarter. 53-50 Alabama  

Third Quarter:

• End of the quarter: Alabama leads 51-50. Brittany Davis with 16 points leads the Crimson Tide.

• Jada Rice makes them both. 51-50 Alabama with 30 seconds left.

• Arkansas takes the lead on a three. 50-49 Arkansas. Jada Rice gets fouled and will shoot two.

• After a pair of Arkansas free throws, it is 49-47 Alabama with just over a minute.

• Loyal McQueen picks up her third foul. Barker and Barber also with three fouls. 45-42 Alabama with under three minutes left.

• Media Timeout with 4:59 left. A Brittany Davis three gives Alabama  41-39 lead.

• Alabama takes the lead on a pair of Jada Rice free throws. 38-37 Alabama with 7:04 left.

• Arkansas starts the quarter on a 7-0 run to take the lead. 37-36 Razorback with 8:30 left.

Second Quarter:

• Halftime: Arkansas makes a late basket to make it 36-30 Alabama. Crimson Tide has five players with multiple fouls so far. 

• Karly Weathers nails a three to push the lead to 10. 36-26 Alabama with under a minute left.

• A great pass by Brittany Davis sets up Ryan Cobbins for an easy layup. 33-23 Alabama with 1:44 left.

• Aaliyah Nye makes a pair of free throws to stop a 6-0 Arkansas run. 29-21 Alabama with three minutes left.

• Arkansas cuts the lead to six. 27-21 Alabama with 3:30 left in the half.

• Media Timeout with 4:45 left in the half. Alabama leads 27-17. Brittany Davis leads all scorers with 11 points.

• A Brittany Davis three extends the lead to double-digits. 27-15 Crimson Tide with 5:16 left.

• Sarah Ashlee Barker, Jada Rice, and Loyal McQueen all with two fouls early in the game. Something to keep an eye on.

• Rice makes them both, she is up to 8 points on the night so far. Already over her season average. 24-15 Alabama

• Jada Rice gets fouled, and will go to the line.

• Jada Rice with a layup to start the quarter. 20-11 Alabama  

First Quarter:

• End of the First: Alabama leads 18-11. Arkansas has gone almost seven minutes without a basket.

• Jada Rice with a tough layup, followed by Hannah Barber three. 18-11 Alabama with under a minute left.

• Offenses have grinded to a halt. 13-11 Alabama with two minutes left.

• Alabama is three of three from behind the arc, Arkansas is three of five.

• Timeout on the floor as the shots are falling fast and furious. 13-11 Alabama with 4:58 left in the quarter.

• Alabama finally halts the run. 11-7 Arkansas with 6:15 left in the quarter. 

• Arkansas on a 8-0 run in 90 seconds. 8-3 Razorbacks with eight minutes left.

• Aaliyah Nye hits a three off a Hannah Barber steal. 3-0 Alabama  

Pregame:

• Alabama Starting Five:
• Sarah Ashlee Barker
• Hannah Barber
• Brittany Davis
• Aaliyah Nye
• Jada Rice

•  An Injury Note for JaMaya Mingo-Young:

• The game is set to tip off at 6:00 pm CT on the SEC Network