TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 25 Alabama women’s basketball team defeated Jackson State, 62-51, in its annual Holiday Hoops game Sunday inside Coleman Coliseum. With the win, the Crimson Tide improved to 11-0 to start the season and earned its 40th-consecutive non-conference home victory.

Alabama (11-0) saw two players finish in double figures inside Coleman Coliseum as Diana Collins (20) and Naomi Jones (15) both secured career-highs in scoring. The UA duo combined for 13-of-23 (57 percent) from the field, while also grabbing 13 of the team’s 37 total rebounds to pace the Tide on both sides of the ball.

Jackson State’s (2-7) Mikayla Brown finished with a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) alongside Leianya Massenat, who scored a team-high 13 points.

“I’m proud of our crowd today. I thought we had a great crowd, and kudos to promotions for everything with Santa and the Teddy Bear Toss. I appreciate everybody who came out and hope they’ll come out and see us again this week and as we head into January.

“[The game] was ugly. We looked like we were studying a little bit and still stuck back with what was going on this week (final exams), but I think sometimes when you have a few days off, that’s hard to simulate in practice. We did a really great job of finding a way to win an ugly game today and credit to our team. 

“Naomi and Diana shot 56 percent of our scoring, and both rebounded the ball well. I’m just proud of these two for showing up today and their energy and effort. My challenge to them is to stay consistent with it.””

Game Notes

• Kristy Curry secured her 540th career victory following the team’s 11th win of the season.
• Alabama extended its winning streak to 13 straight home victories
• Along with her career-high in scoring, Naomi Jones also collected a season-high three blocks and a game-high seven rebounds
• Diana Collins finished with six rebounds, tying her career-high
• Karly Weathers (3) and Ace Austin (3) combined for six of the team’s 10 total assists
• UA controlled the paint, outscoring JSU 38-24
• The Tide recorded its 10^th game with 35 or more rebounds after outrebounding the Tigers 37-31
• Alabama shot 23-of-52 (44 percent) from the floor, 3-of-14 (21 percent) from deep and 13-of-17 (77 percent) from the free throw line
• In comparison, Jackson State shot 20-of-58 (35 percent) from the floor, 7-of-13 (54 percent) from deep and 4-of-4 (100 percent) from the charity stripe

How it Happened

• Alabama closed the first quarter on an 8-0 run, led by Diana Collins and Naomi Jones, who had five points apiece (20-13)
• The Crimson Tide went on another 8-0 run halfway through the second quarter before holding the Tigers to 0-of-7 from the field to end the first half (35-25)
• Jackson State narrowed Alabama’s lead coming out of the break after holding the Tide to just two points over two minutes in the third quarter (43-37)
• Jackson State narrowed Alabama’s lead, outscoring the Tide 14-11 in the third quarter, which included holding UA to just two points in over two minutes of action (46-39)
• UA would use a 10-0 run to earn its largest led of the night, 17 points with 1:17 on the clock, before closing the game with an 11-point advantage (62-51)

Up Next

• Alabama continues its four-game home stretch on Tuesday, Dec. 16, hosting Sam Houston at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+