TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (Interstat) — Alabama used an early offensive surge and relentless defensive pressure to defeat New Orleans 118-45 on Wednesday at Coleman Coliseum in a women’s NCAA Division I game. The Crimson Tide improved to 2-0, and the Privateers fell to 0-2. Attendance was 2,397. New Orleans opened its season with a 127-48 loss at Arkansas, while Alabama opened with a 92-56 win over Queens (NC).

Alabama set the tone immediately. Aaliyah Roberson opened the scoring with a 3-point field goal. After Rhian Comery answered with a layup for New Orleans, Roberson converted a free throw after a layup and added another layup, Ace Austin made two free throws, and Alayna West and Kylie Torrence followed with layups as Alabama built a 14-4 lead. Mykelle Richards then scored on consecutive layups and free throws. Tianna Chambers hit a 3-point jump shot, and Naomi Jones closed the first quarter with a layup that gave Alabama a 30-6 advantage. New Orleans scored 18 points in the first quarter, nine in the second, 12 in the third and six in the fourth. Alabama scored 29 in the first, 28 in the second, 31 in the third and 30 in the fourth.

The pattern continued in the second quarter. Sophia Edwin hit a 3-pointer and added a jump shot for New Orleans, and Gabrielle Edo and Rhian Comery also scored, but Alabama answered each time. Comery made a layup and free throw, added two more layups, a turnaround jumper and a tip-in layup, and Tajenae Gooden made a layup for the Privateers. Ace Austin made a layup, a tip-in and two 3-pointers in the period. Amirah Anderson added two 3-point jump shots, and West converted a layup and a three-point play. Chambers and Richards closed the half with baskets, sending Alabama into halftime with a 59-24 lead.

Alabama forced 36 turnovers, committed nine and limited New Orleans to 20-of-68 shooting from the floor, including 3 of 19 from 3-point range. Alabama shot 46 of 93 overall, 9 of 31 from beyond the arc and 17 of 23 from the free-throw line. New Orleans shot 2 of 5 from the free-throw line. The Crimson Tide held a 23-10 edge in offensive rebounds, a 26-5 advantage in assists and a 12-3 margin in blocks. New Orleans scored 45 points from 96 possessions for an offensive rating of 46.7. Alabama scored 118 points from 90 possessions for an offensive rating of 131.2.

West led Alabama with 17 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists and one block in 29 minutes. The 5-foot-10 guard from Madison, Wis., who previously played at Madison La Follette, also had eight points, seven rebounds and five assists in the Crimson Tide’s season opener against Queens (NC). Mykelle Richards, a 6-foot-1 forward who previously played at Etiwanda High School, added 16 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block in 17 minutes. Ace Austin, a 5-foot-7 guard from Spring Garden High School, had 14 points, three rebounds and four assists in 20 minutes. Aaliyah Roberson, a 6-foot-2 forward from Clark High School, finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, one assist and one block in 17 minutes. Tianna Chambers, a 6-foot-1 guard from Cherry Creek High School, contributed 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in 21 minutes. Caitlin Staley, a 6-foot-4 center from Greenbrier High School, had 10 points, two rebounds, one assist and four blocks in 17 minutes. Kylie Torrence, a 6-foot-2 forward from Winston-Salem Christian School, added 13 points and three rebounds in 18 minutes.

For New Orleans, Gabrielle Edo, a 6-foot-3 center from Round Rock High School, had five points, eight rebounds, two assists and three blocks in 26 minutes. Naomi Jones of Alabama, a 6-foot-4 forward from Jackson, had six points, five rebounds, two assists and one block in 10 minutes. Leah Brooks, a 6-foot-3 forward from Hazel Green, added six points, two rebounds, two assists and three blocks in 20 minutes. Alabama placed seven players in double figures.

Alabama extended its lead throughout the second half. The Crimson Tide opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run that included free throws and a jump shot from Chambers, a layup from Jones, a transition jumper from Anderson and a layup and free throw from Torrence. New Orleans got baskets from Destinie Gordon, Gianna Ericksen, Edo and Comery, but Alabama answered with a 3-pointer from West, a 3-pointer from Roberson and two layups from Staley to take an 87-33 lead into the fourth quarter.

In the final period, Naomi Jones made two free throws, Tajenae Gooden hit a 3-pointer and added a jump shot, and Jadaya Branch and Ericksen also scored for New Orleans. Brooke Coffey made a layup and a 3-pointer for Alabama. The Crimson Tide closed with layups from Staley, West, Richards, Torrence and Brooks. West finished with a tip-in layup, Richards converted a three-point play and two free throws, and Brooks capped the scoring for Alabama with a fast-break jump shot before Edo made the final free throw for New Orleans. Alabama is scheduled to host Alabama A&M next, while New Orleans is scheduled to visit Texas A&M.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Alabama 76, New Orleans 55. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Alabama with a 100 percent probability to win.