The University of Alabama’s women’s wheelchair basketball team earned another national championship on Saturday. This marks the team’s fifth consecutive national title and 11th in program history.
The team topped the University of Texas at Arlington — the same team they ousted last year in Tuscaloosa to become national champions — 67-52 in a matchup hosted by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
UA’s Bailey Moody was selected as tournament MVP.
“Bailey earned that finals MVP throughout this whole season with her work ethic and leadership. She came up biggest for us in the biggest game,” said Coach Ryan Hynes.
UA’s only three losses this season were to UT-Arlington, which made the championship win even sweeter.
“We have had some great battles with UTA throughout the season. We knew that chances were we would face off in the final with them to decide the national championship,” said Hynes.
“The team worked hard the last two weeks preparing for a few specific things we thought they might throw at us. The girls executed our game plan to near perfection. Even when UTA went on a run in the second half, we didn’t blink. We stuck to the game plan and made some huge plays late to secure the victory.”
Hynes said this year’s team has been more unified than ever.
“To win this year took an entire team effort. The bench was the loudest in the country in that last game, and it fed the floor with so much confidence and energy. This team is special and I’ll never forget it!”
Visit their website to learn more about all the University’s Adapted Athletics teams.
Contact
Jennifer Brady, UA Strategic Communications, jennifer.brady@ua.edu