Women's Basketball Set for SEC Tournament Opener with Missouri - rolltide.com

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Postseason play begins Thursday in Greenville, S.C. for the Crimson Tide as it is slated to take on the Missouri Tigers in the second round of the 2021 Southeastern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. The game will tip at 5 p.m. CT in Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

FOLLOW ALONG

Thursday's game will air live on the SEC Network with Courtney Lyle, Carolyn Peck and Steffi Sorensen on the call and can also be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network (WTBC-AM 1230 in Tuscaloosa) with Roger Hoover providing the play-by-play.

OPENING TIP

• Alabama heads into postseason play at 15-8 overall and finished the Southeastern Conference portion of its schedule at 8-8.
• The Tide recorded back-to-back eight win seasons in conference play for the first time since 1996-97 – 1997-98.
• Alabama is the No. 7 seed in the SEC Tournament, its highest standing since 2014.
• Alabama ranks 36^th in the NET with seven of its eight losses coming to teams ranked 20 or better in the NET in No. 4 South Carolina (twice), No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 13 Tennessee, No. 15 Georgia, No. 19 Arkansas and No. 20 Kentucky.
• Alabama's 75.0 point-per-game average is the highest average it has had in nearly two decades.
• The Tide is No. 1 in the SEC in free throw percentage (74.8) and top two in the league in nearly every three-point shooting category.
• Alabama is led by its big three of Ariyah Copeland, Jordan Lewis and Jasmine Walker. Walker leads the way, averaging just shy of a double-double with 20.0 points and 9.9 rebounds, while Lewis adds 16.4 points, 4.2 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game and Copeland 14.6 points and 8.5 boards per outing.
• Walker and Lewis both earned All-SEC honors with Walker on the first team and Lewis on the second team. This marks the first time since 1998 that the Tide has placed two on the All-SEC First and/or Second Teams in the same season.
• Alabama has one of the top three-point shooters in the SEC and in the nation in Walker, who leads the league, and ranks top 12 nationally, in three-pointers per game (3.04), made (70) and attempted (172) and is No. 4 in the SEC in percentage (40.7).
• Walker is also the only player in the SEC to rank in the top five in the conference in both scoring and rebounding.
• Walker was named SEC Player of the Week last week following her record-setting performance at Auburn where she scored 41 to become Alabama's single-game scoring leader.
• Walker was also recently named a finalist for the 2021 Katrina McClain Award and to the Naismith Trophy Women's Midseason Team. 
• The Tide has one of the most experienced point guards in the SEC in Lewis, who has started every game she's played in since she arrived on campus in 2016. Her 126 games started is the most in program history.
• Lewis is also the SEC's active leader in assists (493) and is No. 4 in career steals (156), No. 5 in career points (1,500) and No. 14 in career rebounds (513).

SERIES NOTES

• Thursday's meeting between the Crimson Tide and Tigers will mark the 14th in the series that began in 1981.
• Following that initial meeting, the two teams did not face each other again until 2002.
• Alabama won two of the first three matchups as SEC competitors, however Missouri would go on to win four of the next five to take a lead in the series.
• The Tide has closed the gap to one game with back-to-back wins against the Tigers, including a 74-59 victory in the SEC opener this season.
• This will be the first time the two teams meet in the conference tournament.

Last Five Meetings

Dec. 31, 2020	W		74-59	Columbia, Mo.
March 1, 2020	W		73-61	Tuscaloosa, Ala.
March, 3, 2019		L	47-82	Columbia, Mo.
Dec. 31, 2017		L	56-62	Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Feb. 26, 2017		L	56-65	Tuscaloosa, Ala.

ABOUT MISSOURI

• Missouri heads into the SEC Tournament as the No. 10 seed.
• The Tigers are 9-10 overall and finished the conference season with a 5-9 record.
• Missouri has won two of its last three with victories over Florida and at Mississippi State.
• In their last three games, the Tigers averaged 82.0 points per game with a season-high 96 in the win over the Gators.
• Missouri is led in scoring and rebounding by All-SEC Second Teamer Aijha Blackwell, who averages 14.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.
• The Tigers are coached by Robin Pingeton, who is in her 11^th season in Columbia and 26^th overall as a head coach. She has guided the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament berths and seven overall postseason appearances. She is one of 37 active NCAA Division I head coaches with 500+ career wins, and just 1 of 16 at the helm of Power Five program to reach the milestone.

LAST TIME OUT

• Alabama dropped its regular-season finale, 94-76, at No. 16 Arkansas on Sunday in Bud Walton Arena.
• Ariyah Copeland led the Tide in scoring and rebounding with 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Jordan Lewis chipped in 15 points and Jasmine Walker finished with 12 points and nine boards.
• Destiny Rice rounded out the UA players in double figures with 11 off the bench.
• As a team, the Tide outrebounded the Razorbacks by 10, 41-31, and had 42 points in the paint compared to 16 for Arkansas, however the Razorbacks were on fire from three-point range, hitting 19 in the game.
• Alabama led early in the first, however the hot three-point shooting by Arkansas gave the Razorbacks the edge with 6:07 to go in the quarter.
• Arkansas would take a nine-point lead, 26-17, heading into the next frame with another three just before the buzzer.
• The Razorbacks extended their advantage out to 20 at the 3:46 mark.
• The Tide responded with 11 unanswered over the next 90 seconds, however Arkansas would hit one more three before the half to lead 51-39 at the break.
• Alabama opened the third with an 8-0 run and eventually cut its deficit down to three, but the Razorbacks would push it back out to nine by quarter's end.
• Again, the Tide would be the first to strike with a run, pulling within four.
• The Razorbacks responded with nine of the next 12 to lead by double digits with 6:06 to go.
• An 11-2 run over the next four minutes for Arkansas would seal the win for the Razorbacks.
• Copeland recorded her ninth double-double of the season and 17^th of her career.
• After having only scored double-figure points once in her career heading into the conference season this year, Rice now has four games of over 10 with her 11-point performance against the Razorbacks.

For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.

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Women's Basketball Set for SEC Tournament Opener with Missouri - rolltide.com

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