Women's Wheelchair Basketball Overcomes Early Deficit to Sweep Powerade Invitational, Remain Unbeaten in Intercollegiate Play

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The University of Alabama women’s wheelchair basketball team opened the Powerade Invitational at home at Stran-Hardin Arena by winning all three of its games handily on Dec. 8 (62-38 over the University of Arizona, 74-33 over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and 54-35 over the University of Texas at Arlington).

While the Crimson Tide completed the tournament sweep by beating the Texas-Arlington Mavericks 68-48 in a rematch on Dec. 9, they had to overcome an early deficit to get that tournament-closing win.


Alabama's Logan Le Roux gets introduced at the beginning of the Powerade Invitational on Dec. 8 at Stran-Hardin Arena
(photo courtesy of Alabama Adapted Athletics)

Alabama trailed Texas-Arlington 16-13 after one quarter, a deficit that increased to 24-13 after the Mavericks opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run.

“They were hitting their shots to start the game; we were not hitting our shots to start the game,” said Alabama coach Ryan Hynes. “That being said, we knew that our game plan was going to work. We just had to stick with it. Our shots were going to start to fall because we were getting really good looks. It just took us a little bit to catch our footing.”

Alabama then went on a 16-0 run to finish the second quarter and take a 29-24 halftime lead.

“It felt like we were finally playing the way we could in this game. It was really exciting to see it finally all come together after a little bit of a slow start,” said Alabama senior Bailey Moody.

See Also: Crimson Tide Wheelchair Tennis Bounces Back with Pair of Wins at the Auburn Open

Eight of Moody’s 13 points came during that second quarter scoring run after she came off the bench.

“That’s nothing new. She’s a shooter. I have all the confidence in her in the world. Whether she’s behind the screen or driving to the basket, she’s a heck of an offensive threat,” proclaimed Hynes. “I think she came in there, gave us the little jolt that we needed.”

Alabama outscored Texas-Arlington 21-12 in the third quarter and 18-12 in the fourth quarter to reach that final 20-point margin of victory.

Senior Mary Silberman led the way with a game-high 26 points, five of which came during that second quarter scoring run.


Alabama's Mary Silberman had a game-high 26 points in the Crimson Tide's 68-48 win over the University of Texas at Arlington in the Powerade Invitational at Stran-Hardin Arena on Dec. 9.
(photo courtesy of Alabama Adapted Athletics)

Graduate student Joy Haizeldan and sophomore Ixhelt Gonzalez each scored 11 points in the win.

The Crimson Tide head into the break with an 8-0 record in NWBA Intercollegiate Division play after going 4-0 in the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Tournament the previous weekend.

“It feels great. It feels like we’re exactly where we should be,” said Moody. “We still have a lot of things we can tighten up and improve on, so it’ll be exciting to see where we can be by the end of the season.”

See Also: Men's Wheelchair Basketball Sweeps Jalapenos Invitational

Alabama begins 2024 with the University of Texas at Arlington Tournament where the Crimson Tide will play a pair of games each against Arizona and Texas-Arlington on Jan. 12 and 13.

They will finish the 2023-2024 season at the NWBA Women’s Intercollegiate National Championship Tournament on March 7-9 where they will be going for a fifth consecutive national championship.

“We know where we’re at. We know we’re a really good team,” Hynes stated. “But we also know we have a long way to go. We haven’t kind of built that chemistry that we’ll have by the end of the year. We have a chance to be great if we keep doing things the right way.”

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