Sarah Ashlee Barker could have raised her WNBA Draft inventory on Monday. On the very least, she jotted her identify into the NCAA Event file e book with a sharpie.
The senior guard for the fifth-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide went down furiously swinging within the last sport of her school profession, scoring 45 factors in a double-overtime loss at No. 4 Maryland, 111-108.
Barker’s level whole is a single-game program file for Alabama, and in addition tied fourth-most factors ever scored by one participant in an NCAA Event. The participant Barker tied is Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell, and the gamers rating forward of her are Lori Bauman (50 in 1982), Sheryl Swoopes (47 in 1993) and Jayne Appel (46 in 2009).
The 6-foot senior from Birmingham shot 17-of-25 from the ground, 4-of-6 from 3-point land and 7-of-11 from the free throw line in what’s going to lengthy be remembered as an unbelievable efficiency in School Park, Maryland. She additionally had eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in 45 minutes of play towards the Terps.
Sarah Ashlee Barker over her last 13 video games of the season after coming back from harm on Jan. 26:
21.2 factors, 6.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists on 57% 2P & 42% 3P (61% TS)
That is a first-round choose.
— Hunter Cruse (@HunterCruse14) March 25, 2025
Barker’s 3-pointer close to the tip of the fourth quarter gave Alabama a lead with 37 seconds to play, however Maryland’s Sarah Te-Biasu responded with a deep shot of her personal to ship the sport into additional time. On the finish of the primary further interval, Barker knocked down three consecutive free throws with no time left to ship the sport right into a second OT.
On the finish of the ultimate additional time, a shot by Barker’s teammate missed the mark, after which Te-Biasu got here up with a steal to seal the win for Maryland.
It was the primary double-overtime sport within the girls’s NCAA Event since a 2022 Elite Eight sport between N.C. State and UConn. It was the primary double-overtime sport Maryland had performed in since 2008.
A victory for Barker’s Alabama would have put the Crimson Tide within the Candy 16 for the primary time since 1998. As an alternative, Maryland advances to the second weekend for the fourth time in 5 years.
However Alabama followers will all the time bear in mind this efficiency by Barker — the daughter of a former Alabama quarterback — who leaves the Crimson Tide as one of many program’s best gamers.
