Despite great first half, Alabama women's basketball falls to No. 10 LSU on Thursday
It was a tale of two halves for Alabama women's basketball on Thursday night. In a record-breaking, 5,575-person crowd at Coleman Coliseum, the Crimson Tide was unable to sustain a halftime lead against the No. 10 LSU Tigers, losing its second straight conference home game, 78-58.
"I really appreciated the crowd tonight, and am so thankful for them for supporting our program, and I believe that this team deserves a crowd like that," coach Kristy Curry said discussing the record breaking crowd.
The Crimson Tide was outscored 17-3 at the 4:48 mark of the 3rd quarter, and the Tigers just kept rolling on to an eventual 20-point victory.
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PHOTOS: Arkansas at Alabama - SEC Womens Basketball
Here are three observations from the game between Alabama (15-5, 2-3 SEC) and LSU (17-2, 4-1):
Alabama battling early
Coming off a crushing loss against Arkansas, the Crimson Tide was able to battle against the defending national champion Tigers.
Alabama fed off the raucous crowd playing with a ton of effort on both sides of the ball, including rebounding, which played a major factor in the loss against Arkansas.
The Crimson Tide were also able to effectively score the ball as well in the first half, shooting 41% from the field.
After the first half, Alabama led against LSU, 35-34.
Aaliyah Nye catches fire
Coming off a down game offensively, Aaliyah Nye caught fire in the first half where she looked like her old self shooting 6-11 from the field, including 4 of 7 from 3-point range.
Alabama went on an 8-0 run to end the first half and Nye contributed five of the points to give Alabama a halftime lead.
Nye scored 18 points in just the first half and looked to shoot nearly each time she touched the ball, continuing to display why she is not only one of the SEC's top 3-point shooters, but the country's top 3-point shooters.
Nye continues to lead her team and the conference in 3-pointers made with 67.
Tigers' third-quarter run paves the way
Despite a stellar first half from Alabama, the Tigers never gave the lead back up in the second half paving the way to victory.
The Tigers finished the third quarter on a 26-10 run, only holding the Crimson Tide to just 23 second half points.
LSU ended the game on a 44-23 run.
Up next
The Crimson Tide travel to Auburn to face the Auburn Tigers in Auburn Arena on Sunday, Jan. 21 (2 p.m., SEC Network+).
Alabama won both its matchups against Auburn last season.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama women's basketball falls to No. 10 LSU on Thursday at Coleman Coliseum