Alabama
University of Tennessee
Alabama Women’s Basketball Returns to the Hardwood Thursday Against Tennessee
2/15/2017 10:07:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Crimson Tide and Lady Volunteer to tip at 7 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women's basketball team (15-10, 3-9 SEC) welcomes Tennessee (16-9, 7-5 SEC) to town for a 7 p.m. CT matchup on Thursday in Coleman Coliseum.
PROMOTIONS
Crimson Out: Fans in attendance are encouraged to wear crimson.
Giveaway: LED foam sticks
Tuscaloosa County Night: Residents of Tuscaloosa country receive $3 admission.
8 Hoo's Q 30 for 30: If the team scores 30 points in the first quarter of the game, everyone in the stands will receive 30 percent off from Hoo's Q.
Tuscaloosa Toyota Season Long Giveaways: Throughout the season, Tuscaloosa Toyota will be giving away prizes such as an iPad Pro 9.7", Beats headphones, $50 iTunes gift cards, $50 American Express gift cards and 43" LCD televisions.
THE BROADCAST
Thursday's game will air live on SEC Network + with Eli Gold, Rick Moody and Hannah Chalker on the broadcast. The game can also be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Roger Hoover and Tyler Williams calling the action.
OPENING TIP
Alabama will play its first of two remaining regular-season home games on Thursday when it hosts Tennessee in Coleman Coliseum. This is the first and only meeting between the Crimson Tide and Lady Volunteers during the 2017 SEC slate.
Tennessee's 42-game winning streak against Alabama ended a season ago when the Tide came out on top, 54-46, on Senior Night. Alabama had not won against the Lady Vols since March 3, 1984. It was also the Tide's first win in series history in Tuscaloosa.
Juniors Hannah Cook and Ashley Williams are both close to reaching the 1,000 point milestone. Cook currently stands at 933 points, 67 away from 1,000, while Williams is only 49 points away from the mark at 951 points.
Freshman Ashley Knight has 59 blocks on the year, which ranks No. 1 in the SEC and 18th in the nation. She currently stands at No. 3 on Alabama's single-season top 10 list and is two away from the No. 2 spot, which is held by Tausha Mills (1997-98). Yolanda Watkins holds the Crimson Tide record at 68 blocks, which she achieved during the 1993-94 season.
COOK MOVES UP THREE-POINT CAREER CATEGORIES
Junior Hannah Cook has been one of the best shooters from long range since arriving on campus and has moved her way into the Alabama record books in every three-point category for a career. She currently has 181 makes, which ranks eighth and is 12 away from the No. 7 spot held by Monique Bivens (2001-05). Cook's 529 attempts is also eighth, 19 away from Bivens, who is also seventh in that category. In three-point percentage for a career, Cook stands at No. 10, hitting 34.2 of her attempts.
SHOT-BLOCKING SENSATION
Freshman Ashley Knight has been stellar thus far defensively in the paint. She already has 59 blocks on the season, for an average of 2.4 rejections per game. Her 2.4 block average ranks the Austin, Texas native second in the Southeastern Conference and 27th nationally, while her 59 overall blocks is first in the league 21st in the country. Knight is also third on the Alabama single season top 10 list and is already 19 away from the Tide's career top 10 list.
BOLTON AMONG ALABAMA'S TOP 10 IN CAREER BLOCKS
With her 23 blocks thus far this season, junior NeNe Bolton moved into Alabama's top 10 in career blocks. Heading into Thursday's game she has 89 total, which ranks seventh. She is now two blocks away from the No. 6 spot currently held by Nikki Hegstetter (2012-16).
GETTING TO THE LINE
Alabama finished the 2015-16 season ranked 73rd in the nation in free throw attempts (615) and 77th in free throws made (430) while averaging 69.9 percent made per game. The Crimson Tide is making an even stronger showing this season getting to the line a total of 578 times, 196 more times than its opponents (382). Alabama ranks first in the SEC and fifth in the nation in free throw attempts.
TIDE GETS BOOST FROM BENCH
Alabama has one of the most productive benches its had in the last several years, and that has been evident in both minutes and production on the stat sheet. Through 25 games, the Tide's reserves have accounted for 511 points (20.4 ppg), 297 rebounds (11.9 rpg), 74 assists (3.0 apg), 76 blocks (3.0 bpg) and 47 steals (1.9 spg).
FAB FROSH
Alabama's freshmen, Ashley Knight and Jordan Lewis, have made an immediate impact in the Tide's lineup. Lewis, who has started at point guard, leads the team, and ranks seventh in the Southeastern Conference, in assists (3.9 apg) and is fourth on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg). Knight, the 6-5 post, averages a team-best 2.4 blocks per game while adding 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest.
ABOUT TENNESSEE
Tennessee enters Thursday's game with a 16-9 overall mark and a 7-5 record in Southeastern Conference play. The Lady Volunteers have won five of their last seven games. Last time out, Tennessee was edged by two at home against Texas A&M, 61-59.
Redshirt junior Diamond DeShields leads the Lady Vols in scoring with an average of 18.0 points per game. She is followed by redshirt junior Mercedes Russell (16.7 ppg) and junior Jaime Nared (15.6 ppg). Russell is the team's leader in rebounds with 9.4 boards per game, while senior Jordan Reynolds dishes out a team-best 4.5 assists per contest.
As a team, Tennessee ranks third in the SEC in scoring with 75.2 points per game but has allowed 66.4 points per contest, which ranks 12th in the league. The Lady Vols are one of the best free throw shooting teams at 75.7 percent, good for third in the SEC.
Tennessee is under the direction of Holly Warlick, who is in her fifth year as head coach of the Lady Volunteers. She led UT to a 27-8 record, an SEC regular season championship and a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight in her first season, a 29-6 mark and the SEC Tournament championship in year two and a 30-6 record and a share of the SEC regular season championship. She was voted as the Spalding Maggie Dixon Division I Rookie Coach of the Year in 2013 by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association in addition to being named the SEC Women's Basketball Coach of the Year by league coaches and the Associated Press.
