UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA WOMEN’S WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL READY FOR COMPETITION | By Amanda Perrucci

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA WOMEN’S WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL READY FOR COMPETITION | By Amanda Perrucci

The University of Alabama Women’s wheelchair basketball team traveled to the University of Illinois on February 12-13 for games against University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and University of Illinois. The Tide lost to Illinois 60-54 on Friday night, rebounded for a big win against Whitewater, 53-22, but lost again to Illinois Saturday evening, 56-47.
The first game Friday night ended in a loss for the women’s team. Both number 3 and number 24 for the Illinois squad had 20 or more points each to give Illinois the edge over Alabama. Although the team did not get the W on Friday night, they battled Illinois with positivity and determination. Freshman, Arinn Young, put up a total of 33 points for the Tide with assists from McDermott, Jacques and Sales.
The game against Whitewater Saturday morning was total domination for the Tide. Darda Sales, Karina Keck and Arinn Young led the team with points. Sales had 12 points, Karina scored 10 points and Arinn had a total of 17 points. The team took control of the court with rebounds, assists and baskets.
Finishing the tournament with another loss against Illinois, the Tide women were not discouraged.
“We had a couple tough losses but as a team, we played some of the best games we’ve had this season. We just unfortunately didn’t come out on the winning end on two of those games, but we maintained a high energy and positivity throughout all three games. The two losses have just fired us up to beat Illinois on our home court in a couple weeks,” said junior, Savannah Gardner.
The women’s next tournament will be at home at the University of Alabama where the Tide will have another shot at beating University of Illinois and also play University of Texas at Arlington and University of Arizona. The tournament will be part of “The Night of Champions” event on February 25 and 26.