Women's Basketball Hits the Road for Two Games
2/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama women’s basketball team (8-16, 1-8 SEC) will hit the road for two games this week. Alabama will begin the week against instate rival Auburn (16-7, 4-4 SEC) on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 6:00 p.m. in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. The Tide will then face the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday, Feb. 17 at Noon in Lexington, Ky. Mick Gillispie will once again call the action on CTSN.
The series with Auburn is the longest running one in Alabama women’s basketball history. Today’s game will be the 67th between the long-time rivals. The Tigers took the series lead at 35 games with its 62-48 win over the Tide on Jan. 27 in Tuscaloosa. Auburn has won seven of the last eight meetings between the two foes, with the only Alabama victory in that stretch coming in Tuscaloosa in what was UA head coach Stephany Smith’s first career SEC victory on Jan. 8, 2006. That win snapped a four-game win streak by Auburn.
The Tigers got their revenge later in the season, beating Alabama by nine in Auburn on Jan. 26, 2006. Auburn swept Alabama last season, winning the last matchup in Tuscaloosa 63-58. The Tigers holds a 21-8 all-time mark against the Tide in Auburn. Smith is 1-6 in her career against Auburn.
Auburn is one victory away from a winning ledger in the SEC. With a win on Thursday, the Tigers would move to 5-4 in conference play and would be the first time head coach Nell Fortner has had a winning mark in the SEC. Auburn picked up its fourth win in the SEC on Sunday at Arkansas, 73-68.
The Tigers are led by DeWanna Bonner, who is averaging 18.0 points a game (second best in the league and 37th in the nation) and an SEC best 9.9 rebounds (17th in the nation) a game. In league play, Bonner has put up an improved 19.1 points a game, which leads the conference. Also contributing in double figures offensively is Sherell Hobbs, who has turned in 14.3 points a game in SEC games. She leads Auburn with 54 steals this season, while grabbing 5.5 rebounds per game. Alli Smalley also averages in double-digits, as the freshman puts up 10.4 points a game, while leading the Tigers from long range (35-for-107).
For the year, Auburn is shooting 43.2 percent overall and 34.5 from beyond the arc, while its opponents manage 38.5 percent overall and 31.6 percent from long range. Auburn is outscoring its opponents by a 12.1 margin (31st in the nation) and is outrebounding those opponents by a 5.9 margin (second best in the SEC and 29th in the nation).
Alabama freshman Tierney Jenkins continued to shine for the Tide during conference play. The newcomer recorded a SEC career best with 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Jenkins added a perfect 7-for-7 clip from the charity stripe and a team-high eight rebounds...Jenkins has scored in double-digits in the last four games.
Former local Hillcrest High School standout Christy Elliott made her first appearance in an Alabama uniform. The Tuscaloosa native got the nod against No. 8 ranked LSU. Elliott was a former practice player who got added to the roster this season after helping the Tide in scout preparation.. Former manager Taylor Allen also played in her first career game. Allen made an appearance against Vanderbilt where she tallied her first career points on three-straight free throws.
Alabama will continue its road trip on Sunday, Feb. 17 in Lexington, Ky. to face off against the Kentucky Wildcats. Game time is set for Noon in Memorial Coliseum. Alabama will then return home for the final two home games of the 2007-08 season. The Tide will face Tennessee on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 6:00 p.m. and then host Ole Miss on Sunday, Feb. 24 at 2:00 p.m. Both games will be played in Coleman Coliseum.
