With the 2024-25 season winding down, No. 18 Alabama women’s basketball had to survive an early onslaught from Auburn on Sunday. The Crimson Tide fell behind early, but a late comeback in the first half led to a 66-50 win for UA, on senior night at Coleman Coliseum.

“I thought they were able to do a really good job when things got hard,” Alabama head coach Kristy Curry said after the game. “They embraced hard and made play on the defensive end and rebound. That requires zero talent, to get to the help side, to have high hands, to communicate, all the things that require zero talent, they decided to do.”

Alabama didn’t get off to a great start against the Tigers. By the time Curry took a timeout with 3:55 left in the first quarter, the Crimson Tide was down 13-2, and had already turned the ball over five times.

The Tide continued to struggle offensively throughout the first. Auburn helped a 20-9 lead after a quarter, including a last-second three-pointer that Jordan Hunter hit from nearly half-court to beat the buzzer.

In the second quarter, Alabama got cooking. The Tigers led by 16 points with 4:51 left in the half, when UA’s offense finally arrived.

“We all kind of looked at each other and we’re like ‘Oh, this is on the five that are on the floor right now,’’ Alabama’s Sarah Ashlee Barker said. “Like, this is our fault. We’ve done some things that we didn’t practice. We did things that we don’t need to do. We turned the ball over. We weren’t getting defensive stops.

“So there was nothing that coaches could say. It was us as a collective, as a team, that was like ‘No, this is on us, we’ve got to fix it.”

Alabama finished the half on a 17-0 run. In the closing seconds of the quarter, Aaliyah Nye hit a layup to give her team its first lead of the game, 30-29 at halftime.

Both teams made 42% of their field goals in the first half, with the Crimson Tide much better from three-point range. UA hit four of its nine attempts from deep, while Auburn made just one of its five.

Nye had 15 points before halftime, leading all scorers. DeYona Gaston had 10 to lead Auburn, also grabbing five rebounds.

With her first three-pointer of the game, Nye broke the UA record for career made threes, at 273. She went on to make five more on Sunday.

“I just want to thank my teammates, my coaches, and ultimately I just want to win,” the Huntsville native said after the game. “So, I’m very thankful and grateful that I got the record, but not it’s time to just go keep winning.”

In the second half, Alabama started much better. The Tigers managed to tie the game early on, but eventually the Crimson Tide pulled away.

Nye continued her excellent game, finishing with 29 points. Barker (13 points) and Zaay Green (12) were also in double figures for Alabama.

The win moves the Crimson Tide to 22-6 on the season, 9-5 in SEC play. Alabama will be back in action Thursday, against LSU at Coleman Coliseum.