Bama women defeat Faulkner, 93-34

The Alabama women’s basketball team cruised to a 93-34 victory against the Faulkner Eagles in the Crimson Tide’s lone exhibition game Monday evening inside Foster Auditorium.
“I loved the grit that we showed tonight and thought we played really, really hard,” Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said in a news release. “It was great balance across the board. I think everyone scored, and we got a lot of quality minutes.”
Freshman Shaquera Wade recorded a double-double with 17 points — including shooting 8-for-16 from the floor — and 10 rebounds in her first game in a Crimson Tide uniform.
Sophomore Meoshonti Knight, a former Central Catholic High School standout, also totaled 17 points, topping her career-high of 16 points.
“I feel like I needed to get off to a better start this season, my teammates and I,” Knight said. “Offensively, that’s something that has kind of always been there, and defensively, I’ve been striving to work hard on that end, so that’s where those points were coming from.”
Sophomores Quanetria Bolton and Hannah Cook reached double figures as well, with Bolton scoring 10 points and Cook tallying 15.
For the game, Alabama shot 48.1 percent (37-77) while holding the Eagles to 17.2 percent (11-64) from the floor and forcing 26 turnovers. The Tide capitalized on the turnovers, earning 28 points alone from them.
After a back-and-forth opening in the first few minutes, the Tide took the lead for good on a three-pointer by Knight that was assisted by Wade.
Alabama ended the quarter with a 24-12 advantage.
Alabama continued to build on its lead in the second quarter, putting together a dominating 10 minutes of play to outscore the Eagles 27-2 in the frame, going into the locker room leading 51-14.
Faulkner was held scoreless for the final eight minutes of the first half, and that drought extended midway through the third quarter, lasting a total of 14:10.
Alabama stayed hot from the field in the second half, making 18 of its 38 shots and stretching the lead to 66 points late in the fourth quarter.
The Tide was a dominant force in the paint, compiling 49 points to just 10 for the Eagles. Alabama also hauled in 61 rebounds for the game while valuing possession of the basketball, dishing out 17 assists compared to only 12 turnovers.
Alabama tips off the regular season Friday at 4:30 p.m. against Alabama A&M. The game will be played at Coleman Coliseum and is the front end of a doubleheader with the men’s basketball team.
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