Alabama falls to Tennessee

The University of Alabama women’s basketball team fell at No. 6 Tennessee 77-56 Thursday night in Thompson-Boling Arena.
Alabama sophomore Ashley Williams led all scorers in the game with 18 points. She has now scored double figures in 18 games this season and 39 for her career. She also led Alabama in rebounds with seven.
Hannah Cook and Quanetria Bolton each reached double figures for Alabama with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Cook also had five points and one assist, while Bolton had one rebound and one steal.
Alabama freshman Meo Knight, a former Central Catholic High School standout, had nine points, two rebounds, one assist and three steals. She connected on four of five shots from the field.
Tennessee had three players finish in double figure points, led by senior Ariel Massengale with 17.
Alabama (13-15 overall, 2-11 in conference play) started 0-6 from the floor before Bolton scored the Tide’s first basket four minutes into the game.
Tennessee’s lead reached double figures after back-to-back threes at the 13:48 mark.
Seven unanswered points from Alabama cut the Lady Vol lead to seven with 10:03 to go in the half, but Tennessee (23-3, 13-0) responded with eight straight points to extend its lead back to 15 during the next 90 seconds.
The Lady Vols stayed on top for the rest of the period and took a 33-22 advantage into halftime.
The two teams traded baskets during the first several possessions of the second half before Tennessee strung together 11 straight points to take a 48-26 advantage with 13:21 remaining.
The Tide trailed by as many as 36 in the game but did not back away and ended the game on a 23-8 run.
For the game, Alabama shot 35.6 percent (21-59), while Tennessee hit 40.6 percent (26-64) of its attempts.
The Lady Vols edged the Tide in rebounds, 40-38, while Alabama outscored Tennessee in the paint, 34-24.
The Tide returns home for its final game of the week Sunday when it hosts No. 14/16 Mississippi State in Foster Auditorium for Alabama’s annual Power of Pink/Play 4 Kay game. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. with the game airing on SEC Network+.