Box Score Box Score

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Twenty-four points off of 29 turnovers was nearly the difference in the game as Alabama whipped Northwestern State 78-52 in women's basketball action here Friday night.
 
Three Lady Demon players recorded double-figures in scoring with Jordi James leading the squad with 13 points.  Meredith Graf added 12 points while Trudy Armstead contributed 10 points.
 
Alabama (2-1), who is coming off a loss to Southland Conference foe Central Arkansas, had two players score 20 or more points on the night – 22 by Meghan Perkins and Jasmine Robinson with 20.
 
The Crimson Tide also dominated the paint with 36 points scored between the blocks.  They also outrebounded NSU by a 48-40 margin.
 
“We knew we had to handle the basketball for us to have a chance to be successful,” said head coach Jennifer Graf.  “In the first half, we played afraid.  We kept backing up from them defensively and didn't attack the ball.
 
“We've got to get better.  Our guards need to handle the ball better.  We're not turning the ball over getting to the basket, we're turning it over in the back-court, 40 feet from the goal.
 
“We've preached and preached about blocking out and we didn't do that tonight.  We've got to be able to do the fundamental things correctly and until we do that, it's going to be hard to win ball games.”
 
NSU (1-2) scored the game's first two points before the ball was ever jumped for as Alabama was whistled for a foul prior to the start of the game.  James' two free throws gave NSU a 2-0 lead but Alabama came back with a 3-pointer by Celiscia Farmer to give her team a 3-2 lead – one that it would not relinquish.
 
The Lady Demons kept the game close early on and cut the deficit to 8-6 after a Graf jumper with 15:06 to play in the half.  Alabama then rolled off a 15-3 run over the next six minutes to grab a 23-9 lead with 9:34 to play.
 
Graf snapped the slide with back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the gap to 11 points, but Alabama answered with another run that led to a 42-23 halftime lead.
 
In the second half, the Crimson Tide took their largest lead at 45-25 after a trey by Robinson with 19:26 to play and was up 51-32 at the 15:49 mark when NSU knocked down back-to-back shots by Graf and Armstead to cut the margin to 51-36 with 14:17 to play.
 
Eight turnovers over the next seven minutes gave Alabama the fuel to explode to a 64-40 lead as the deficit never got back under 20 points.
 
The Lady Demons will be back in action on Monday when they visit South Alabama.