A day after getting off to a good start in their win over Georgia, the Cats reverted to their old habit of stumbling out of the gate. Alabama jumped out to a 17-7 lead in the first 6:45 of the game. That advantage was due in large part to their work on the offensive glass.
The Tide grabbed six of their own misses in the first half, and all but one came during that early stretch. The Cats, on the other hand, only had one offensive board and lost the battle of the boards 19-14 overall in the half.