Sarah Ashlee Barker propels No. 23 Alabama women to 80-60 romp over Mississippi State

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Sarah Ashlee Barker finished with 19 points and matched her career high with 12 rebounds to help No. 23 Alabama roll to a wire-to-wire 80-60 victory over Mississippi State on Sunday.

Barker added eight assists and four steals for the Crimson Tide (20-5, 7-4 Southeastern Conference). Both of her double-doubles this season have come in the past two games.

Essence Cody had 17 points and seven rebounds to go with four blocked shots for Alabama. Zaay Green totaled 12 points, six rebounds and five assists. Aaliyah Nye, who scored 27 on a school-record nine 3-pointers in an 84-66 road win over Florida State on Thursday, hit 2 of 7 from beyond the arc and scored 12 with three steals.

Debreasha Powe made two 3-pointers and scored 14 to lead the Bulldogs (17-8, 4-7). Madina Okut, who leads the SEC and is third in the nation shooting 67% from the floor, made 6 of 9 shots and scored 12. Destiney McPhaul scored 10 off the bench.

Nye had seven points and Karly Weathers hit two 3-pointers as Alabama scored the first 10 points on its way to a 26-11 advantage after one quarter.

Cody had 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting as the Crimson Tide shot 60% from the floor in the first half. Powe had nine points for Mississippi State, which made just 9 of 31 first-half shots (29%). Barker scored six straight in a 12-0 run to push a 16-point lead to 45-17. She had 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists by halftime to guide Alabama to a 47-22 lead.

Mississippi State travels to play No. 24 Vanderbilt on Thursday. Alabama is idle until hosting Texas A&M on Feb. 17.

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