TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Senior Meoshonti Knight scored the game-winning layup with 5.5 seconds left to propel Alabama women's basketball past Georgia Tech, 61-59, in the round of 16 of the Women's National Invitational Tournament inside Coleman Coliseum on Thursday night.

With the win the Crimson Tide (20-13) advances to the quarterfinals of the WNIT to take on Virginia Tech on Sunday, March 25 at 1 p.m. CT in Blacksburg, Va.

"I want to thank our crowd," head coach Kristy Curry said. "I thought our attendance tonight was really good for a pretty afternoon in Tuscaloosa during the week with a lot of activities going on. For everybody to come out tonight, I thought our crowd was really the difference down the stretch. I thought our kids played for the front of their jerseys tonight and were able to make good plays down the stretch, and I thought our crowd really inspired our team, so thank you."

Senior Ashley Williams led the way with 13 points and four rebounds, while sophomore Jordan Lewis chipped in 11. Knight ended the game with six points and five rebounds in the win.

Alabama started off the game slow, falling behind 24-7 with six minutes remaining in the second quarter. The Tide responded with an 11-0 run over the next two minutes to make it 24-18. UA continued its run into halftime by outscoring GT 22-5 to end the half and tie the game at 29-29.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair, with Georgia Tech building a 40-34 lead with 4:08 to go in the third quarter. The Tide trimmed the deficit to 43-40 heading into the last 10 minutes of play.

With 7:11 left in the game, senior Hannah Cook was fouled on a three-point attempt and converted all three free throws to give Alabama the 47-45 advantage. The two sides had six lead changes in the final seven minutes with Georgia Tech leading by as many as five with 3:05 remaining in the game.

Trailing 59-58 with 47 seconds to go, Williams banked in a layup to put the Tide back on top. The Yellow Jackets responded by going 1-of-2 at the free throw line to tie the game up at 59-59 with 27 seconds remaining. Alabama held the ball for the last shot as Knight put in the layup to seal the win for the Tide.

Alabama shot 19-of-25 (76 percent) from the free throw line and 21-of-53 (40 percent) from the field in the victory.

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