Mike Siroky’s SEC Report: South Carolina Reaches No. 1 Amidst More Covid Considerations

By Mike Siroky

 

South Carolina ascended to No. 1 in the national poll just ahead of its road game Monday with No. 2 UConn.

Then there were also the weekly Covid issues. 

No. 16 Tennessee scrubbed two games, at Mississippi  State and at Texas A&M, both teams ranked higher. 

The SEC's COVID-19 management requirements were  developed by the league.

We are fast running out of time for rescheduled games, though there are fewer regular games scheduled. 

The A&M game was already once rescheduled. 

The issue the first time was Covid  in Aggieland. They are tied for second in the conference with one loss each.

LSU coach Nikki Fargas has missed two games under Covid  rules.

Arkansas volunteered to move its game vs. Mississippi State later in the month to Super Bowl Sunday, against the chance of some coming postponement.

The NCAA has said you only need 13 games played to qualify for its elimination tournament and all concerned have reached that benchmark. 

The NCAA also said teams with a losing record could qualify. 

Obviously different this year is no one hosts and no one travels to first-round campus sites or Sweet 16 Regionals.

 Instead, start to finish, everyone goes to Texas for the duration.

First-round games will be on multiple  courts in San Antonio (Alamodome, St. Mary’s College and USTA Convention Center) Austin (Texas) and San Marcos (Texas State). 

Second-round games, Sweet 16 qualifiers, will be at the San Antonio sites. Sweet 16 and up will be in the Alamodome.

Not yet understood is will the winners as well as the losers return home after first-round games and then again after the Sweet 16. 

Every travel adventure is also a Covid exposure risk. That is moving a lot of bodies in and out.  Any team that encounters Covid is automatically eliminated.

Obviously the field is cut in half and then half again before the Sweet 16. 

Do opening night losers, all 16 of them, get booted the same night? 

Every game loses money for the NCAA, no crowds and no paraphernalia sales, though smart schools will have T-shirts for sale.

This underlines the concern of a league tournament. 

If it were to be scheduled and a Covid incident erupted. the teams involved would be out of the NCAAs. 

It is a reason to not have a league tournament this season. 

The SEC will still advance seven to the big tournament.

Mississippi State also lost the game vs. disconfirmed Vanderbilt. 

Bad news for the Bulldogs in the greatest slump in a decade, or since they changed coaches. They lost a chance to gain a game. 

Another Vandy cancellation cost scrappy Florida a chance.

Of the teams that did play their first night games, all ranked teams were on the road, three taking care of business against teams they are supposed to defeat.

Rennia Davis of Tennessee is among the final 20 for the national John Wooden award, joining five other league players. 

She is also among the top 10 for the Cheryl Miller Award, which honors small forwards. 

Also on that list are Rhyne Howard of Kentucky and Rickea Davis of Mississippi State.

Chelsea Dungee of Arkansas and Zia Cooke of South Carolina are among the top 10 finalists for the Ann Drysdale Award for shooting guards.

N’dea Jones of Texas A&M, Jessika Carter of Mississippi State, Jasmine Walker of Alabama and Unique Thompson of Auburn are among the 10 finalists for the Katrina McClain Award for power forwards.

South Carolina, Now No. 1 in the nation, though not for long based what happened after this was filed, dropped another road bomb on what is left of 5-12 Auburn. 

SC is undefeated in conference for the second season. 

Now the Gamecocks can focus on this week’s game at No. 2 UConn where the visitor might actually be favored.

Aliyah Boston, it says here, is the only All-American in the league and the conference player of the year. 

Actual results vs. hype. 

She has done everything you need to do to earn those honors. 

The coaches, of course, will vote for someone else, on teams that finish well behind her.

 The sportswriters are even more suspect, a throwback to a time when you could not see or follow every game on the Internet or cable. We challenge anyone to come up with a reason to diss her.

She joined Brea Beal and a 3 by Zia Cooke within the first minute of the game. Boston already had two defensive rebounds. 

Auburn took a time out but it didn’t settle much, Cooke hit two more 3s around an Honesty Scott-Grayson 3 for the home team.

Beal and Victoria Saxton layups made it 17-3. 

This one was already non-competitive with four minutes left in the opening quarter. Carolina was 65 percent from the field, Auburn eight percent.

The quarter finished 25-6. The all-too-familiar single-digit quarter doomed the home team. 

Dawn Staley could begin rotating in reserves as you would in any scrimmage. Auburn tried four reserves with little result.

It was 57-18 at halftime. 

Cooke had 17, 6-of-9 from the field, 2-of-3 3s.  

She did not score again. Boston finished with 14 and eight rebounds. 

It would be one of those games where playing time allowed statistical merits over big numbers. Four reserves had scored.

They slid safely to an 77-58 win, Staley using all kinds of combinations in preparation for becoming No. 1 in the nation and the big game at UConn. 

They will be without injuries and well-rested.

“Zia is pretty darn accurate,” Staley said. “I want her to take all open looks.”

“We didn’t play our starters as many minutes as they needed. We just need to do better. Destiny Henderson probably passed up a lot of shots to get people the ball.” 

She had nine assists and no turnovers.

Staley also  praised Boston for taking charge with communication. 

Auburn coach Terri Williams Flournoy said, “You can see why South Carolina is (ranked well) in the country. One of things I didn’t think we were playing very well in the first half, all ‘Woe is me and we are getting beat.’ Heads down.”

Monday will be a classic first challenge for the new No. 1, two likely top seeds in the NCAA elimination tournament when South Carolina visits UConn. 

There was great buildup for this.

South Carolina brought its deep team to UConn in the rare instance when the visiting team was not a prohibitive underdog. Two wonderful coaches matched strategies.

Each is well in charge of winning their conferences. Geno Auriemma had hand-picked Dawn Staley as his successor running the national team, which includes the Olympics, whenever they resume.

 He had put her as an assistant on his national teams.

SC had the advantage of depth on the frontline, led by Boston, the best center in America. 

Paige Bueckers, the national rookie of the year, is leading UConn, 18.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game with 65 assists. She is the only freshman on the final 20 nominees for the Wooden national player of the year award.

Her best teammate is the junior transfer from Tennessee, Evina Westbrook, once the jewel of the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. She averages with 11.9 with 56 assists, six blocks and 22 steals. 

She started every game at Tennessee her freshman and sophomore seasons and all of them this season.

Junior forward Christyn Williams averages 16.,8 points and 4.7 rebounds. Classmate Olivia Nelson-Ododa averages 14.2 points. 

Auriemma previously took on two from the Southeastern Conference, winning closely at Tennessee and losing at Arkansas, He has said he would not have played either if he didn’t believe they’d give him a game. Last season was the first SC win in the nine-game series.

After this, UConn has seven winnable games to close out the Big East. SC has five winnable SEC games before closing at home with No. 7 Texas A&M.

Texas A&M, the first to be closing in on 20 wins, subdued LSU for the first time in four games of this series. The Aggies’ only loss this season was at LSU. The No. 6 team in the poll remains one game behind South Carolina in conference.

LSU won the first meeting this season in overtime. 

The Bayou celebration was it was the first time since March 25, 2014 that the Tigers had defeated a Top 10 opponent.

LSU came in 8-7. Senior Khayla Pointer matched her season-high in the previous game with 25 points. Senior Faustine Aifuwa recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Seniors Awa Trasi and Karli Seay each scored 13  each.

LSU only had one 3,  Seay banking in from the right corner with 14.1 seconds left to tie it at 62. 

She was fouled on the play, resulting in a rare four-point play. Seay made the free throw with 12 seconds left and won the game, 63-62.

 Aifuwa’s blocked shot puts her four behind the program’s second place. She has 8.9 rebounds per game and 23 blocked shots this season She is the second-leading scorer at 1.7 points.

Pointer leads LSU with 16.1 points and 4.4 assists per game to go along with a team-high 39 steals.  

Sophomore Tiara Young is providing the key spark off the bench at 10.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and shooting at a team-leading 45.7 percent from the field.

 Four of five Aggie starters average double figures:  N’dea Jones (13.7), Aaliyah Wilson (13.4), Ciera Johnson (11.6) and Kayla Wells (10.4). Jones averages 10.8 rebounds , Johnson  eight.

Coach Nikki Fargas was left behind due to Covid considerations.

A&M fell to the voodoo and trailed by eight at the end of one quarter.

In the second Jordan Nixon and Kayla Well had five each,  cutting the lead to three.

A&M trailed at the half, 27-31, a season low. No one was scoring well.

It took an 18-10 third to push A&M into a one-point lead, then a  burst to start the fourth and maybe the Aggies had found themselves, gaining a 10-point advantage on a 28-8 run Kayla Wells had 13 points and Aliyah Wilson 12, two of the team’s six 3s.

Awa Turasi and Faustine Afuwa had 10 each for LSU. A&M was draining clock with two minutes left and a lead of 13. LSU had 11 points in the second half while allowing 31 at that point. 

A&M had its 17^th win with a challenge by Arkansas next. The Aggies remain one game back of South Carolina in conference, with the season-ending game at SC looming as being decisive.

It ended 54-41 when LSU hit its only field goal of the quarter.

“We knew the first five minute were crucial. We did not need to lose to this team again,” said Wells. “I tried to attack as much as I could.

“We’re super confident,” she said. ”Once we prepare, we’re confident.

“We just wanted to stay the course,” said assistant coach Bob Starkey. “We held them to 12 points in the paint. Our kids were so much more active. 

“Our concern was our turnovers, 12 in the first half and some of them because we were trying too hard, too fast. Destiny Pitts could be starting at many other places.

“To have her off the bench, what a blessing. we are certainly not done.”

Pitts said: “We were taking what they gave us. The 3-pointers deflated them. We were able to defend them in a really good job. The defense was the same we played the first time, we just dug in a little more. That was our last loss.”

Jordan Nixon pointed out the drives to start the second half led to five straight baskets.

“Many of the teams we play respect us, but it all is just trial and error and then go with what works,” Nixon said. “ The bench is huge (16-3 scoring advantage). They bring so much to the table. They can spark us at any given moment, anything can happen any night.” 

Coach Gary Blair said, “Timely 3s is what we had. We were on the life raft there in the first half. If something is  not working, I am not afraid to change.

More importantly was they started missing and we started hitting. Our bench helped us magnificently. We got into their legs in the second half.

“We have to solve the turnovers. We’ll try to get better.”

He welcomed in Arkansas on Super Bowl Sunday for win No. 18, the most of any in the league. 

They will remain one game back of conference leader South Carolina until the final game of the regular season, in Columbia. The Aggies and the Gamecocks will both go undefeated at home in conference this season.

This was originally to be an invasion day by Tennessee until the Lady Vols suspended operations with Covid.

It was Arkansas’ sixth loss in 10 conference games.

Leading conference scorer Chelsea Dungee is an efficient, exciting scorer who is in some All-American discussions. 

But wouldn’t you think a true All-American would lead a team to a better position in her own conference and a much better record when it counted? Five conference losses is too distracting. They can win out now against the less-thans. It’s gotta be about coaching. 

 Texas A&M advances to 18-1, the most wins in the league,  with a 9-1 record in the SEC, second only to South Carolina.

It is the best start since the 2010-11 National Championship Team, having successfully run an 11-0 home record.

An 8-0 run starting at the 2:11 mark of the third quarter gave A&M a 56-48 lead against Arkansas. A McKinzie Green jumper at the buzzer for the largest lead to that point.

A&M led by as many as 12 points, 62-50 at the 6:48 mark of the fourth quarter. But Arkansas came up with its own 12-0 spree to tie it. Nixon drove down the lane and laid the ball up with 8 seconds remaining to seal the victory, 69-67. She had won the first matchup with a last-second layup at Arkansas.

Unfortunately for Arkansas, it still had two fouls to give and so could not force free throws.

A&M outrebounded Arkansas by a 46-18 margin, 14-2 advantage on the offensive glass, the least rebounds amount allowed all season. 

A&M outscored its opponent in the paint for the 16^th time this season, beating Arkansas 30-24 in the category.

Ciera Johnson, Aaliyah Wilson and Kayla Wells finished scoring in double digits, combining for 58 of the team’s 69 points.

Wells was the game-high scorer with 21.

Wilson registered her second career double-double, 14 points, and a career-high 10 rebounds, nine defensive. Johnson scored 13 N’dea Jones was the game-high rebounder, 13.

“We lost that game in the middle of the third quarter,” Neighbors said. “We didn’t lose it at the end. We had a little lapse of focus and they went on a run.

“They’re one of the best defensive teams in the country. You’re not going to get a great look because they’re going to contest every shot.”

Blair said, “Another typical Arkansas and A&M game. We know each other so well, we know our tendencies. Normally, we’re playing a little bit better in the second quarter. We actually got off to a reasonable start being up 17-14, and I thought that was great for us the way it was going. 

“I’m worn out. It seems like we've had so many of these ball games but I have to trust my veterans down the stretch to keep making plays and they’re doing it. 

“Of course, our rebounding was good because they did not send that many to the boards by design. That's why they usually stay out of foul trouble. And that's why I believe in his system as much as I believe in my system. 

“Wilson and Wells both did a lot of other things in the ball game. Early on, I thought we were trying to stare down the post players and we were waiting too long to throw it into Ciera or N’dea. 

“You have to have ball movement; you have to have some passes entered from the high, not just from the wings to the guards, but eventually we have enough post touches in there to do some damage in there. I thought Ciera was solid throughout the game besides her foul problems. But Wilson, she does so many other things besides score. She's our shutdown defensive player for the majority and she's been struggling a little on that. 

“Wells, this was her best complete game of the year. We were isolating her in the third quarter, and a little bit in the first half, just running ball screens to her and told her if the 3 isn’t there just keep driving the ball.”

“I can put her  (Nixon) in, but the best thing about Jordan is she can play loose and not be afraid to make a mistake because she knows that there's two people backing her up that are ready to go in at any time.

“I want her playing flat-out, making decisions, sometimes making bad mistakes, but I want her playing just like that because I'm not trying to play her for 40 minutes. I'm trying to get the lead for her to run my tempo and for her leadership and all that good stuff. I trust Jordan Nixon.”

 Nixon said, “Just trust. Trust carries me in those moments, trusting my coaches and my teammates. We initially called something, but it didn't really work out. Coach Blair and coach Bond-White, everyone was just like, if it comes down to it, make a play. So that's what I was able to do, and I'm so glad.

“Well, we ran some backend, and it didn't quite work out. There was just an opportunity, and I was able to take it, but no, it wasn't necessarily designed for me. That's the beauty of this basketball team. Anybody at any given moment can make a big shot.”

 Wells said, “We talked about just in case there was a broken play, one middle for Jordan get her going downhill, get here attacking. When I saw her driving, I knew she was going to make the layup. I mean, she does it time after time in practice and in games, so I had nothing but faith in her, and I knew she was going to make the layup.

“I just feel like we’ve been in this position so many times. We know that all of us are in the gym; we put in work so much, so we know if it's our shot, we're going to make it, or we're going to make something happen to make a play. So I just feel like us being there so many times and us getting repetition and putting in work. That just creates confidence for us.”

They avoid an 11-day layoff when Tennessee finally comes to town next Sunday inn the third scheduling of this matchup.

Kentucky was easily erased by Ole Miss. It cost them five poll spots, to No. 20  

The Kats took a week off after that. Madison Scott of Ole Miss was Rookie of the Week in the SEC. She is the Rebels’ leading scorer but only had nine this time, making the win even more mystical.

Kentucky unimaginably lost at one of the worst teams in the SEC, 72-60. It gave UK four conference losses and all but eliminated them from winning the league in an example of a rookie coach inheriting a fine team and driving it into a ditch. Ole Miss has two conference wins, a highlight for next season’s press guide.

Howard had but five points, Chasity Patterson nine. 

Even though Howard rose to 24 points, no one else did much. Patterson, for instance, scored five in the second half.

Howard said, “I just know that me having experience, I know what she (coach Kyra Elzy) is looking for. I was just trying to put the team on my back. If I got going, I knew my teammates could get open.

“We know our mistakes are fixable.”

Elzy said, “Credit to Ole Miss. They came out aggressive. We gave them 17 offensive rebounds, 42 points in the paint. I wanted to look at some different lineups.

“Everything that happened to us are fixable. I did not like our energy, we had lack of offensive execution.”

Junior forward  Shakira led the Rebels with 21. Junior guard Mimi Reid scored 14 off the bench, off a five-point average.

UK’s idea at finishing in the league top four is likely over. That they lost to a coach who can barely run another league team is just as sad.

It may be time to decide if Howard is truly an All-American or just the designated statistic hog.  Shouldn’t her team be higher in the SEC standings if they have the only league All-American?

Howard struggled from the floor for the first three quarters before getting hot, with half of her 24 points in the final period, when it was already over.  She doubled with 10 rebounds.

Patterson was the only other Kentucky player in double figures, 14.

 Kentucky made just 21-of -66 shots from the floor, 6-of-26 3s. The Rebels won rebounding, 48-34 and points in the paint, 42-20.

 The lead changed hands five times early before Kentucky went on a 5-0 run, keyed by a Howard layup and free throw, to take a 9-5 lead. After an Ole Miss basket, Kentucky got a 3 from KeKe 

McKinney to lead 12-7 with 5:56 to play in the first period.

The Rebels scored eight in a row to take a 17-14 advantage with 2:10 left in the first quarter. From there, neither team would score until Patterson converted a layup with two seconds left in the period. Ole Miss led, 17-16.

Ole Miss had a 13-7 start of the second quarter. 

It was an unimaginable 41-28 at half. Howard, 6-of-8 from the line, had risen to 10. Austin scored 17,  7-of 8 from the field, 3-of-3 from the line. She was already at her season scoring average.

 Ole Miss scored the first four points of the second period to lead 21-16. After Ole Miss extended the lead to 27-20, Patterson hit a 3. Ole Miss scored the next eight points to build the with 2:57 remaining in the half.

Kentucky interrupted the run on four Howard free throws but the Rebels scored the last four points of the half.

 Kentucky looked like a different team with a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to 43-40. It was a 12-2 run for the Kats

But Ole Miss answered on a 10-4 run to extend the lead back to nine. The Rebels led 55-47 after three periods.

 Howard got the scoring started in the fourth quarter with a 3. She scored again to make the deficit five but UK could not get closer.

"Extremely grateful for the win, extremely grateful for our players having resilience and not breaking," said Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin. 

“They put together 40 minutes. We knew we were close because we had put together 25 minutes, and then 30 minutes, and then at LSU we put together 39 minutes, so the focus for the last couple days was just on finishing, and I thought we did a good job of that tonight.

 “(We) wanted it. We feel, as a team, like we have lost games. We don't feel like a lot of people have beat us. “We were extremely tired of that, and that's no knock on Kentucky. Listen, they’ve got one of the best players in the country and they’re ranked for a reason. They're really good. But we’re really good, too."

Or as good as 8-7 can be. 

Kentucky had a week off before welcoming in Tennessee, if the Lady Vols clear the Covid protocol.

Arkansas had no drama in sweeping a season series, at Missouri. The Tigers are another league team whose season is over early, for the second straight year. They were 9-22, 5-11 last season.

The subsequent loss to A&M dropped them two pots in the poll. to No. 19.

Chelsea Dungee, on track to be All-American, shared Player of The Week in conference. She leads Arkansas in points per game, 22.2. Destiny Slocum scores 14.6 per game and Amber Ramirez 12.6.

The Razorbacks average 20 more points per game than Missouri allows, so the focus on the three-point win at hone to start the  year was to show how much better either had gotten.

Arkansas has since stayed nationally ranked and beaten UConn, but has lost in conference six more times, four to teams ranked above them and then at Georgia ranked below them.

The losses eliminate Arkansas from winning the SEC title, which is why coach Mike Neighbors is the only coach campaigning for a conference tournament, looking for redemption

In that first meeting, Alijah Blackwell was one of four Tigers in double figures, with 20. Arkansas had 12 3s, to seven for Mizzou.

Arkansas softy handled its business, winning the first quarter by five and the second by one. Slocum was 5-of-4 from 3s for 14 total points. Dungee had 13, 6-of-13 from the floor. Arkansas had six 3s.

The lead extended to 13 in the third. Dungee was near her average with 19. Amber Ramirez scored 17. Slocum only scored two, but 16 gave the Razorbacks a balanced attack in the first league road win.

Reserve guard Lauren Hansen scored 13 for the Tigers, including two late 3s that kept the margin reasonable. So here cam Missouri with a 14-5 start of the fourth. Eight blocked shots was making the difference when it was a three-point difference. Arkansas battled for rebound and Slocum was fouled by missed both free throws. With 3:43 to go, another Arkansas miss allowed a position which ended with a Slocum foul.

Hayley Frank, and 89 percent free throw shooter, hit two free throws to complete an 18-point recovery in 11 minutes. The Tigers were ahead by one. 

Arkansas had not scored in more than three minutes. Dungee hit two free throws, then forced a shot clock violation, Mizzou’s eighth turnover. Dungee hit her 25^th point of the game with 1:19 left. She has 20-point efforts in 9-of-11 recent games.

Frank drove for a score. Slocum hit a 3, her sixth, to make it 83-78 with half a minute left, the 14^th Razorback 3. Arkansas forced a miss and was fouled before they could inbound. Makayla Daniels to the line for two.

It was a five-point lead with 18.9 seconds left. With 7.l4 left, Frank was fouled. She hit both, 13 points for her, below her season average.

Arkansas called two times out. Dungee was fouled and completed an 8-for-8 night at line. The sweep was complete, 85-80. Three straight wins. The bench won the reserves battle, 43-13. Arkansas had an 18-4 edge off turnovers.

The Tigers are 1-6 in games decided by six points or less, under .500 overall for the year.

“Ain’t no room on those score sheets,” said Neighbors.

“We were really good at times really bad at others and we’re just happy to be going home.

“Destiny showed that takeover mentality, just what we needed. That’s experience from her, 39 minutes. She showed a lotta poise.

“ ‘Remember the UConn game’ is what we said. They took a one-point lead and we responded. They have incredible memories.

 “Lotsa poise and what we needed. Those fifth-year seniors come through.

“Fortunately, we only turned it over four times. It was never comfortable until the final horn went off.”

The Razorbacks moved on to the loss atTexas A&M, the second-place team in the league.

Arkansas next has Mississippi State  at home. Then Florida; the Gators upset Arkansas last season. They cannot afford another whiff with South Carolina still to come.

Georgia kept Alabama reeling with an overtime road win. Georgia held on to the last spot in the poll. The Tide had lost two straight. It was the only game for both. Them ’Dawgs are No. 17 in the poll.

The Bulldogs won six of the last seven games against the Crimson Tide, with each of those wins in single-digit margins. Three of the last six meetings have gone into overtime -- all of those are 

Georgia wins. 

Georgia leads the SEC in scoring defense, holding teams to 58.4 points per game. The Lady Bulldogs rank in the top five5 of the conference in every defensive category, including steals (9.3), blocked shots (6.1), field-goal percentage defense (.368) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.254). 

 

Alabama and Georgia rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the SEC in free-throw shooting. The Tide hits 75.5 percent from the line,  the Bulldogs 75.4.  

Georgia features have played 11 or more players in all but five games this season. They are led by four seniors, all in post-graduate work:  Gabby Connally, Maya Caldwell, Que Morrison and Jenna Staiti.

Georgia had lost two games in a row for the first time this season to  No. 7 Texas A&M and to unranked  LSU.

  

In each games they hit  below 35 percent from the floor.

shooting.

 That was the setup.

The reality was another.

 Senior guard Que Morrison scored a career-best 25 — 19 of those in the second half — to lead Georgia, 83-76, in overtime. 

Georgia has now won six of the last seven against Alabama.  Five of the six wins have come in overtime. Alabama is finished in the SEC with five losses and will once again not win 20, despite whining about it every season.

The Lady Bulldogs committed a season-low 13 turnovers, scored 52 points in the paint and had 24 points in transition. 

“We have gotten away from scoring in transition the last few games,” coach Joni Taylor said. “We were committed to running all four quarters, and it worked for us. It is extremely difficult to have to score in the half court all night long. 

“That took some pressure off of us offensively. This is who we were and we got away from it the last two games. Tonight, we limited turnovers, scored in transition and got to the free-throw line. It makes a huge difference.” 

Alabama scored the first eight points in the game as the Lady Bulldogs missed their first seven.  The lowest ranked team was losing to the league’s tanked team.

Georgia cut it to one point then hit eight unanswered points.

The Crimson Tide held an18-15 edge at the end of one. 

Alabama stayed ahead the remainder of the half, capped off with a Hannah Barber 3 with six seconds left.

 

Georgia forced four Alabama turnovers in the first three minutes of the third. The Tide miscues led to points for the Bulldog led by three as the fourth quarter started. 

The Lady Bulldogs were up 66-60 midway through the fourth, but the Tide scored five points on one trip down the floor to inch closer. It went to overtime tied at 69. 

In the extra period, Morrison knocked in two free throws and made a driving layup to put Georgia up 73-69. 

Jen Staiti scored 15 for Georgia. Jasmine Walker scored 24 and Ariyah Copeland 17 for Alabama.

The win broke a 5-4 conference tie and also gave the loser five overall losses.

The Lady Bulldogs are 6-2 on the roadthis season, 

The walking dead of Auburn visit this week.