After a week off following a tough loss to Tennessee, Alabama women's basketball bounced back with a solid home win over Mississippi State. It was a game of runs, and the Bulldogs were tough to put away, but a solid defensive effort and another big performance from Jessica Timmons, who put up 28 points, helped the Crimson Tide to an 85-78 win.
Karly Weathers had a huge fourth quarter, putting up 11 of her 13 in the final period, which was instrumental in putting the Tide over late. It was great seeing Essence Cody return in limited action, as she will definitely be needed with the tough upcoming schedule.
Ace Austin continues to have moments when you see how special she is going to be in Tuscaloosa, and I am excited to see how she continues to develop the rest of her freshman season. Austin's performance on Sunday will definitely need to be consistent, as the SEC schedule will only get tougher from here. Of course, the first test of the week will be going to Athens to take on Georgia, which is on a three-game winning streak, including two ranked wins over Ole Miss and, most recently, Kentucky.
And then, of course, next Sunday will be an even bigger road test heading to Baton Rouge to take on an LSU team that has been on fire as of late. The Tigers have not lost since January 3rd and have been quite dominant as of late. I am sure they will be looking for revenge after losing to Alabama last season in the only season matchup. It would be amazing to go in and knock off Kim Mulkey's team for a second straight time, but most importantly, at worst, it would be ideal to split the week. It may be a tough task, but with so little room for error to stay as a contender in the SEC, you can't lose both games.