Alabama survives overtime controversy, foul on Sarah Ashlee Barker, Flau'Jae Johnson, upsets No. 7 LSU

Of the eight matchups taking place in the SEC on Thursday night, two wound up being ranked showdowns. But Alabama–LSU from Tuscaloosa certainly took the spotlight. In a game between two of the conference’s best, Alabama wound up stunning LSU in a thrilling upset.

Drama ensued through all four quarters where an extra five minutes was required. Overtime was just as tight as the end of regulation as the final score read 88-85.

The game could not end without a little controversy, though. Both Sarah Ashlee Barker and Flau’Jae Johnson happened to foul out of the game on the same play in overtime. Johnson was called for a block while after an officials review, Barker was called for an intentional foul on the rip-through. Both were on four fouls and picked up their fifth, meaning they were disqualified.

The LSU superstar was seen bleeding on the lip and was covering up the cut while officials were at the monitor. Still, the replay determined the blocking foul occurred before Barker’s, meaning Johnson was out of the game.

Neither Kim Mulkey nor Kristy Curry were happy with the sequence. Mainly Curry as LSU was getting two free throws plus the ball. Just one of the free throws wound up being a make before Alabama got a stop.

You can check out the full play here via Matthew Brune of On3’s The Bengal Tiger.

Flaujae called for the foul, but theyre reviewing it for a flagrant on Barker for the elbow to Flaujaes mouth…

Ive seen it before where a player was in the cylinder they dont call the flagrant. I think thats what this is but we'll see. pic.twitter.com/vf7kJxNpQj

— Matthew Brune (@MatthewBrune_) February 28, 2025

Aaliyah Nye was Alabama’s star, finishing with 28 points on 9-12 shooting while also making all seven of her free throw attempts. But the Crimson Tide had to play without her during key stretches of the game due to fouling out. Nye did not play the final 3:26 of the fourth quarter plus overtime.

Even so, Curry’s team found a way to gut out a win. A massive win for Alabama when looking at the big picture. Winning an SEC regular season championship is not possible but earning a top-four seed and double bye in the SEC Tournament is still a possibility.

There is also a nice boost in the NCAA Tournament seeding. Heading into the night, ESPN’s Charlie Creme had Alabama as a five-seed but the LSU win gives them a fifth Quad 1 win.

As for the Tigers, this is just their third loss of the season — all coming in SEC play. The race to be a one-seed on Selection Sunday takes a dent but should still be alive.