The No. 23/20 Alabama women's basketball team remains on top after dominating Clemson 73-39 on Tuesday to win the 2024 Emerald Coast Classic championship.
The Crimson Tide, defeating Alabama State 83-33 in the opening round of the event, improves to 8-0 on the season, equaling its best start since 2020-21, reports Alabama Athletics.
Zaay Green had 17 points and six assists, Essence Cody added 15 points and nine rebounds against the Tigers. Green and Cody combined to make 14 field goals.
Aaliyah Nye (14) and Sarah Ashlee Barker (13) also picked up double figures and dished out four assists apiece to aid in the win. The Tide scored 42 of its 73 total points in the paint.
Clemson was held to 12-of-47 shooting (26%). The Tigers made just 1 of 10 shots in the fourth quarter.
Alabama was coming off an 83-33 victory over Alabama State on Monday after holding the Hornets to single-digit points in the first (8), third (7) and fourth (6) quarters. The Crimson Tide kept it rolling against Clemson, limiting the Tigers to 14 first-half points.
Alabama scored the opening four points against Clemson and led throughout. Clemson's longest run was 5-0 to get within 32-19 early in the third quarter.
Nye scored 14 points, and Barker had 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals for Alabama (8-0).
Green scored 12 points in the first half and Cody added nine as Alabama led 29-14 at the break.
Mia Moore was the lone double-digit scorer for Clemson (4-2) with 11 points.
"We've had great balance the last two days. We had four in double figures and nearly a fifth," said Head Coach Kristy Curry to Alabama Athletics.
"I thought we executed the game plan against a good Clemson team. I'm really proud of our team and who we are trying to be every day. It was just a great team effort. I think we are trying just to execute the defensive fundamentals each day. We talk a lot about multiple efforts. We knew they would try to shorten the game and make multiple passes. We have to do a better job with the little things, and I think we did a good job of affecting the ball tonight."
Game notes, shared by Alabama Athletics, on the Clemson matchup:
- With the victory, Alabama moved to 8-0 on the year to remain undefeated which is the first time since the 2020-21 season
- Zaay Green and Aaliyah Nye were named to the All-Tournament Team
- Green also received the Most Valuable Player honor for the Emerald Coast Classic
- The Tide's average margin of victory in tournament wins over Alabama State (50 points) and Clemson (34 points) was 42.0 points per game
- Diana Collins picked up a career-high six rebounds, while Essence Cody recorded a season-high nine rebounds
- Additionally, Karly Weathers tied her career-high in steals (5), with her and Sarah Ashlee Barker (5) accounting for 10 of the team's total 13 steals
- The Tide held the lead through all four quarters, scoring 22 points in both the third and fourth
- The Tide accounted for 42 of its 73 total points inside the paint, outscoring Clemson, 42-20, in the statistic
- UA shot 46 percent from the floor (30-for-64), 35 percent (6-for-17) from deep and 77 percent (7-for-9) from the line
- In comparison, the Tigers shot 25 percent (12-for-47) from the field, six percent (1-for-15) from deep and 87 percent (14-for-16) from the charity stripe
Alabama returns home to play Georgia State on Monday. Clemson plays at home on Sunday against Kennesaw State.
