Crimson Tide Women Win Another National Championship
For the fifth consecutive time and tenth time overall, the University of Alabama women’s wheelchair basketball team are national champions.
The Crimson Tide earned their latest championship by beating
the University of Texas at Arlington 75-57 in the championship game of the Women’s
Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball National Tournament on the afternoon of March
9 at Stran-Hardin Arena.
“This season was so long, and we worked so hard, and this
team was so emotional with being down three at halftime and ending up winning,”
said Alabama senior Mary Silberman.
After leading 13-10 at the end of the first quarter, Alabama
found itself trailing 33-30 at halftime.
“We talked at halftime about a few things to sharpen up our
defense and our offense,” Silberman said. “We definitely rose to the challenge.
We made the adjustments. Everyone just balled out and made the buckets when it
mattered.”
Alabama senior Bailey Moody’s basket at the buzzer capped a
third quarter in which Alabama outscored Texas-Arlington 22-13.
Alabama outscored Texas-Arlington 23-11 in the fourth
quarter. Moody hit all six of her free throws in the final thirty seconds of
the game to definitely ice the victory.
Moody finished the game with 18 points. She was one of five
Alabama players with double-digit scoring performances in the championship game
along with Silberman’s 19 points, sophomore Ixhelt Gonzalez’s 16 points, graduate
student Joy Haizelden’s 14 points, and graduate student Loieza Vari Le Roux’s
ten points.
See also: Up Next for Alabama Men: the National Tournament
Gonzalez had been received the National Player of the Year Award
during the ceremony following Alabama’s 65-35 win over the University of
Arizona in the semifinals the previous evening.
Silberman was named the tournament MVP.
“While gracious, she pointed out that she thought it was
unfair to compare her value and contribution as a 4.5-point player – the designation
for players with the least amount of physical and mobility restrictions – with the
value and contributions of players at other point players.
“They needed to give it to somebody; they gave it to me. Thank
you; I appreciate it, but I would also like my teammates to be recognized,” she
said.
She mentioned the fact that five Crimson Tide players scored
in double-digits when talking about the contributions of the other players on
the team.
While there was no tournament played in 2020 due to the
onset of the COVID-19 pandemic this is the team’s fifth consecutive national
championship (among years where the tournament was held), and it is the program’s
tenth national championship overall.
“It’s hard to be successful, and it’s even harder to maintain
success over time,” said Alabama coach Ryan Hynes. “We’re always trying to push
to improve. We’re not happy necessarily with where we’re at.”
“We’re going to enjoy this one — don’t get me wrong,” he
added. “But we know that we want to be the best and the only way that is going
to happen is if we keep working to improve and get better.”
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