Bama Women's Basketball Opens WNIT With Win
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Robert Sutton |
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The Alabama Crimson Tide women's basketball team defeated the Mercer Bears 81-57 to win in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament in Coleman Coliseum on Thursday. UA junior Ashley Williams scored a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds to help lead Bama to a 20-13 record, bringing the Tide to its first 20-win season since 1998-99.
Following the contest, Alabama women's basketball head coach Kristy Curry said, "I was really pleased with our kids today. It's a hard week in the fact that you have so much time from when you've finished your (conference) tournament. Everybody else is on spring break having a fun time, and we are practicing. I really have a lot of respect, especially for these two (Ashley Williams and Hannah Cook) for their leadership this week. It's just a testament to how much our kids want to win and continue to grow the program and be successful. We learned how it felt a year ago losing at Tulane. To get a 20th win today is a step forward, and I'm real proud of our team."
Besides Williams, also scoring in double figures for the Tide were juniors Quanetria Bolton (14) and Hannah Cook (10), sophomore Shaquera Wade (12) and freshman Jordan Lewis (10). In addition to scoring the game-high in points, Williams' 12 rebounds were also a game high. Lewis contributed a game-best seven assists. Junior Meoshonti Knight finished the game with a career-high three blocks.
The Crimson Tide was 31-of-60 (51.7 percent) from the floor, while Mercer was 27-of 81 (33.3 percent). Bama outrebounded Mercer 48-38, and scored 44 points in the paint compared to only 12 for Mercer.
Alabama will now host Little Rock in the second round of the WNIT on Sunday, March 19th. Game time is set for 2 p.m. CT.
Curry said, "We really appreciate our fans that were in the building today, including our band and everyone else that was here to support us. We need a great crowd in here on Sunday. That would give us a great home-court advantage."
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Robert Sutton |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics/Robert Sutton |
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Alabama Women's Basketball Press Conference
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| Click HERE to view press conference |
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Alabama Baseball Begins SEC Play This Weekend
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| Crimson Tide hosts Mizzou this weekend Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The University of Alabama baseball team begins the all-important task of playing its Southeastern
Conference brethren this weekend when the Crimson Tide plays host to the
Missouri Tigers for a three-game series at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in beautiful Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The three games are slated for play from Friday through Sunday, and will close out UA's 20-game
home stand to start the season. The Crimson Tide and Tigers will open the trio of games with a 6:30 p.m. CT start on Friday evening. Incidentally, this game will be a part of the conference's
whiparound coverage of opening night, highlighting all seven games
simultaneously on the SEC Network broadcast. Saturday's second contest is
scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT start with Sunday's series finale set to begin a noon CT. All three games will air live on the SEC Network,
with Dave Neal handling play-by-play for each of the games. Alabama's Lance Cormier will join Neal on the opening night handling the analyst duties, and then Chris Burke will take over analyst duties for the final two games of the series.
The Friday contest will be the eighth time the two teams have met, with the Crimson Tide holding a 4-3 advantage in the series, with a 2-1 record in Tuscaloosa.
Friday night begins "Little League Weekend" and will continue throughout the three games. Any little league player to show up in their uniforms will receive the group discount rate of $5 per person. Friday night only will be a celebration of St. Patrick's Day with "Luck Of The Tide" tee shirts for the first 300 fans through the gate. Also, green-themed food items will be featured at the concession stands. Saturday the Tide will recognize all students in Tuscaloosa County schools as
well as Birmingham City school districts for their academic achievement
with standout students getting a pair of free voucher tickets to the
game. Bama's "Saturday Entertainment Series" will continue as well
for game two, with Jus Gruv performing on the main concourse two hours
before the start of the game right up until first pitch. The series finale on Sunday will
once again be "Kid's Day" at Sewell-Thomas Stadium, featuring
inflatables throughout the day. Something the kids always enjoy, all children 12 and under can run
the bases and get autographs from the Crimson Tide postgame.
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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Alabama's Bailey Scott Earns All-American Honors
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NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships
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| Crimson Tide swimmer Bailey Scott Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
Following Friday's competition, UA head swimming & diving coach Dennis Pursley said, "This was Bailey's first time to final and score at the NCAA Championships and she represented herself and the team very well today."
Scott is now the first woman for the Alabama Crimson Tide women's team to go under 22 seconds in the 50 freestyle. In fact, she has now accomplished that feat three times, including twice in Friday's competition. Scott posted a 21.99 in finals to tie for 13th place. In prelims, she posted a time of 21.95 to earn a place in the B final. Her finish also earned Scott Honorable Mention All-America recognition, the first such honor of her career.
This was Scott's first individual race and the first time at the national championships since having redshirted in the 2015-16 season following shoulder surgery, although it was her third trip to the NCAA championships. She bested her own school record at the Southeastern Conference Championships earlier this season, posting a 21.84, for the first sub-22 50 freestyle in school history.
Pursley commented, "Bailey has kind of picked up where she left off at the SEC championships. That was kind of a breakout meet for her, so to be able to come back a month later and repeat that kind of success, it isn't always easy when you've taken a big step like she has, but she was able to get into finals and score, which was big."
The 400 medley relay of Bama sophomores Katie Coughlin and Emma Murray, along with junior Hannah Musser and Scott, captured 25th place with a time of 3:36.35. In the 500 freestyle, Junior Mia Nonnenberg placed 62nd after touching the wall in a time of 4:49.08.
Alabama now sits in 30th place after Thursday's events, and will return to action today with Nonnenberg swimming the 400 individual medley and Coughlin, Murray, Musser and Scott teaming up for the 200 medley relay. Preliminaries begin this morning at 9 a.m. CT, with the finals set to begin at 5 p.m. CT.
On a hopeful note, Pursley stated, "With Bailey's swims and Emma stepping up on the relay, we had some good swims this morning and as always we hope to keep that going. We've got some comparable opportunities tomorrow. It's another day when all five of the girls will be competing, so we hope the momentum from our first day will carry forward."
Roll Tide, ladies.
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
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Alabama Softball To Play 3-Game Weekend Series
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Tide On The Road To Face Mississippi State Dogs
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide softball team travels to Starkville, Mississippi to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs in a three-game SEC weekend series. The Tide (26-2, 3-0 SEC) will battle the Dogs (21-5, 1-2 SEC) at State's Nusz Park for all three contests. The first game is tonight, scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT start. Saturday's contest will begin at 6 p.m. CT as well, with the Sunday game scheduled for a 2 p.m. CT first pitch. Alabama is currently riding a 19-game winning streak.
The Tide is 57-10 against the Bulldogs, and is currently riding a four-game win streak over Mississippi State.
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Alabama Men's Tennis To Host Pair Of SEC Teams
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| Photo Credit: UA Athletics |
TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The Alabama men's tennis team will continue Southeastern Conference play hosting a pair of league matches this weekend. The Crimson Tide (6-10, 0-4 SEC) will do battle with the 11th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies on tonight, scheduled for a 6
p.m. CT start under the lights at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. Then on Sunday, UA welcomes the LSU Tigers in a
match scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CT.
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Celebrity Birthdays
Rob Lowe, 53
Gary Sinise, 62
Rob Kardashian, 30
Tamar Braxton, 40
Jade Alleyne, 16
Mia Hamm, 45
Katie Ledecky, 20
Grimes, 29
Kurt Russell, 66
Kyle Korver, 26
Coco Austin, 38
Emmanuel Sanders, 30
Samoa Joe, 38
Nat King Cole (1919-1965)
Julia Winter, 24
Olesya Rulin, 31
Chris Davis, 31
Billy Corgan, 50
Stephen Kramer Glickman, 38
Mason Musso, 28
Louis Hunter, 25
Brittany Daniel, 41
Flynn Morrison, 12
