Tide falls to Samford in overtime

The Alabama women’s basketball team fell to Samford in overtime, 61-55, despite a solid effort by sophomore forward Tierney Jenkins.

“We are still trying to find out the identity of the team,” head coach Wendell Hudson said. “This team is a work in progress. Overall, I thought everyone worked really hard and gave good effort.”

Jenkins led all scorers with 19 points as well as pulling down rebounds. Sophomore Katie Hancock led Alabama in rebounding with 11 boards.

In overtime, Jenkins put the Crimson Tide on top first with a jumper at the 4:43 mark.

Camilla Blands hit two crucial free throws to give Alabama a 55-54 lead. The Bulldogs scored two back-to-back layups and a sunk a free throw to pull the momentum away from the Tide.

In the first half, Alabama jumped to a quick 8-0 lead behind four points from both Courtney Strauthers and Dedrea Magee. The Tide captured its biggest lead of the night at the 13-minute mark, leading Samford 15-5.

Samford rallied back to close the gap, and Monica Maxwell hit a jump shot to the game at 20. Sophomore Caitlin Hollifield hit a jumper to give Alabama a 25-22 lead at the half.

Magee got Alabama started in the second half with a jumper to give the Tide a five-point lead, but Samford again fought back and took a 38-37 lead when Maxwell made a layup.

In the final minutes of the game, Jenkins rattled off eight points for the Tide, but the Bulldogs were able to come back and send the game into overtime on a layup by Savannah Hill.

Alabama dominated in the paint, holding Samford to 33 rebounds and only four offensive rebounds. The Tide pulled down 25 rebounds in the first half alone and finished with 52 in the game.

“We did rebound the ball well,” Hudson said. “I thought we played decent defense for a while, but Samford is a good three-point shooting team and they proved that tonight.”