Alabama
University of Missouri
Alabama Women’s Basketball Closes out Regular Season Against No. 24 Missouri
2/25/2017 1:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Crimson Tide and Tigers to tip at 2 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women's basketball team (17-11, 5-10 SEC) will host No. 24 Missouri (20-9, 10-5 SEC) in the regular season finale on Sunday, Feb. 26, in Coleman Coliseum. The game is slated to tip at 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network +.
PROMOTIONS
Season Ticketholder Appreciation Night: Season ticketholders can pick up eight additional tickets for family and friends.
Giveaway: $1,000 Spring Break Giveaway for students
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
Sunday'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
Sunday's game will be Alabama's third matchup of the week. The Crimson Tide picked up a 63-61 overtime victory at Auburn on Monday before turning around and playing another overtime contest on Thursday at Georgia, where the Lady Bulldogs came out on top, 75-61.
Sunday's game is the second of the season between Alabama and Missouri. In the earlier meeting in Columbia, junior Quanetria Bolton nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Crimson Tide a 59-58 victory. That is the only game the Tigers have lost at home this season.
Juniors Hannah Cook and Ashley Williams are both close to reaching the 1,000 point milestone. Cook currently stands at 971 points, 29 away from 1,000, while Williams is 32 points away from the mark at 968.
Freshman Jordan Lewis picked up her fifth SEC Freshman of the Week honor on Tuesday following her performances against Tennessee and Auburn. She scored three of Alabama's 10 points in overtime and pulled down two clutch defensive rebounds on Auburn's final two possessions in the bonus period to help seal the Tide's 63-61 victory over the Tigers, which was UA's first in Auburn since 2011. In Thursday's game against Tennessee, Lewis tied her career high in assists with eight, helping Alabama beat the Lady Vols in back-to-back games for the first time in program history. For the week, Lewis averaged 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals in 39.0 minutes of action.
Freshman Ashley Knight has 64 blocks on the year, which is second in the SEC and is 24th in the nation. She currently stands at No. 2 on Alabama's single-season top 10 list and is four away from tying Yolanda Watkins' Crimson Tide record at 68 blocks, which she achieved during the 1993-94 season.
ALABAMA IN OT
Alabama has played in three overtime games this season and holds a 2-1 record in those contests. The Crimson Tide first beat Kansas, 71-65, on Dec. 4, in extra time. Alabama's next overtime matchup came at Auburn on Feb. 20, where the Tide won 63-61. That was followed by a, 71-65, loss at Georgia on Feb. 23. The last time Alabama played three overtime games in a season was during the 2012-13 campaign, and the last time it had back-to-back overtime games was on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29, 1998, against Boston College and St. Joseph's.
CRIMSON TIDE PICKS UP FIRST ROAD OVERTIME WIN SINCE 2013
Alabama's 63-61 overtime victory at Auburn on Feb. 20, marked the Crimson Tide's first overtime win on the road since it beat Michigan, 76-74, on Nov. 24, 2003, in Ann Arbor. Alabama had played in two overtime games on the road since then.
17 WINS THE MOST UNDER CURRY AT ALABAMA
With its win at Auburn on Feb. 20, Alabama reached 17 overall victories for the season, which is the most since head coach Kristy Curry took over and the most since the Crimson Tide reached 18 for the 2010-11 season.
COOK MOVES UP CAREER THREE-POINT 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 187 makes, which ranks eighth and is six away from the No. 7 spot held by Monique Bivens (2001-05). Cook's 552 attempts is seventh, 90 away from Brittney Ezell, who is sixth in that category.
BOLTON AMONG ALABAMA'S TOP 10 IN CAREER BLOCKS
With her 26 blocks thus far this season, junior NeNe Bolton moved into Alabama's top 10 in career blocks. Heading into Monday's game she has 92 total, which ranks sixth. She is now six blocks away from the No. 5 spot currently held by Terri Hillard (1980-84).
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 652 times, 218 more times than its opponents (434). Alabama ranks first in the SEC and fifth in the nation in free throw attempts.
ABOUT MISSOURI
Missouri enters Sunday's game with a 20-9 overall record and a 10-5 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers have won their last four games, including a 100-65 victory last time out against Ole Miss. Missouri also beat then-No. 6 South Carolina, 62-60, with a last-second layup from sophomore Sophie Cunningham.
Missouri is led in scoring and assists by reigning SEC Player of the Week Sophie Cunningham. The sophomore from Columbia, Mo., averages 17.7 points per game and 3.6 assists per contest. She's scored double-digit points 22 times, including a season high 36 against Texas A&M. Fellow sophomore Cierra Porter leads the team in rebounds with 8.1 boards per game. She's got 11 double-doubles this season.
As a team, the Tigers lead the league in free throw percentage, hitting 80.2 percent overall and an even better 82.5 percent against SEC opponents.
The Tigers are under the direction of seventh-year head coach Robin Pingeton, who, in 2013, guided Missouri back to the postseason for the first time since 2007, and returned again the last three seasons. Prior to taking over in Columbia, Pingeton spent seven seasons at Illinois State (2003-10) after beginning her head coaching career at St. Ambrose, where she served for eight seasons (1992-2000). She holds an overall record of 456-255 over her 22 seasons as a head coach, including a 121-98 mark at Missouri.
