Alabama Begins Three-Game Homestand with No. 15 Texas A&M on Thursday Night
1/22/2020 5:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The Crimson Tide and Aggies will tipoff at 7 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women's basketball begins its three-game homestand with another top-15 team coming to Coleman Coliseum when the Crimson Tide (11-7, 1-4 SEC) welcomes in the No. 15/15 Texas A&M Aggies (15-3, 3-2 SEC) on Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT.
The Tide will look to bounce back after a heartbreaking 65-63 loss to No. 23/25 Tennessee on Monday night in Knoxville, while the Aggies picked up a 69-42 home win over Florida on Sunday without All-American Chennedy Carter who was sidelined due to an ankle injury. Carter's status for Thursday night is still up in the air.
This is the first of two matchups between the Tide and the Aggies in the 2020 season. Alabama is seeking its first-ever win against Texas A&M as the Aggies have won all eight of the previous matchups against UA. The last time the two teams met was on Jan. 13, 2019 with A&M taking the 70-43 victory in College Station. A&M won 73-54 on Jan. 18, 2018 the last time they were in Tuscaloosa.
Promotions
• Buy one, get one free ticket deal
Follow Along
• The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+ via the WatchESPN app with Eli Gold (play-by-play), Rick Moody (analyst) and Arielle Schafer (sideline) on the call.
• On the radio, Roger Hoover and Gray Robertson will have the call on 100.1 FM/1230 AM, while also being available on the TuneIn app.
• Fans can also follow along via live stats on RollTide.com.
Opening Tip
• The Crimson Tide has had one of the toughest schedules to start Southeastern Conference play with three out of its first five games coming against top-25 teams. Four of the five of the teams the Tide has played are in the top-65 in RPI, which includes, Tennessee (64), LSU (25), Kentucky (20) and South Carolina (2). The road ahead does not get easier for Alabama with all three teams in its three-game homestand also coming in with a top-65 RPI in Texas A&M (18), Vanderbilt (63) and Arkansas (34).
• Redshirt junior Jordan Lewis has 1,006 career points after scoring 17 in the loss at Tennessee on Monday. Lewis is also just two assists away from taking over the No. 8 spot in career assists at Alabama. She has scored in double figures in eight straight games for an average of 15.4 points per game. For the season, she leads the team in points (13.6), assists (3.5) and is second in 3-point percentage (38.3).
• The Tide has been led in SEC play by junior Jasmine Walker who is playing her best in 2020 after averaging 16.2 points and 8.4 rebounds, including coming in red-hot from beyond the arc after going 14-of-33 (42.4 percent) through five SEC games. Walker has a double-double in all three of the Tide's SEC road games. In addition, Lewis is putting up 15.6 points, five rebounds and 4.4 assists through the five conference matchups.
• The Alabama bench has outscored its opponents, 556-313 (30.9 avg. - 17.4 avg), in 18 games this season. The Tide reserves leads the SEC in total bench points and bench points per game. The reserves have accounted for 42 percent of the Tide's scoring, with senior Cierra Johnson (8.9) leading the way.
• Alabama enters Thursday's game as one of the best teams in the country at getting to the free throw line. The Crimson Tide is No. 29 in the nation in free throw attempts (363) and No. 28 (255). UA is knocking down its attempts at a 70.2 percent clip which is good enough for fourth in the SEC.
About Texas A&M
• Texas A&M has gone 1-2 since Carter went down in the first quarter against LSU. The Aggies lost to the Tigers and then fell on the road to then No. 11 Kentucky, before bouncing back with a 69-42 victory vs. Florida on Sunday.
• Carter is averaging 21.9 points to go along with 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. The Aggies have three other players that average double figures in Ciera Johnson (13.4 ppg & 7.2 rpg), Kayla Wells (12.7 ppg) and N'Dea Jones (10.2 ppg & 10.8 rpg).
• Head Coach Gary Blair is in his 17th year with A&M and just two wins away from his 400th with the Aggies. Blair has the fifth most career victories among active Division I head coaches with an 806-325 mark. Last year he led the team to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
SEC Active Career Leaders (as of Jan. 22)
• Points - Jordan Lewis: 1,006 (No. 8)
• Rebounds - Jasmine Walker: 463 (No. 10)
Ashley Knight: 407 (No. 12)
• Assists - Jordan Lewis: 350 (No. 2)
• Blocks - Ashley Knight: 200 (No. 1)
Ariyah Copeland: 59 (No. 10)
• Steals - Jordan Lewis: 119 (No. 6)
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