Alabama Women’s Basketball Begins 48th Season, Hosts Charleston Southern in Season Opener

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama women's basketball team will host Charleston Southern inside Coleman Coliseum for its season opener Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 5 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network Plus, with Eli Gold and Richard Hendrix on the call.

The game is the first in a doubleheader, with the Crimson Tide men's basketball team following at 8 p.m. CT.

The Capstone Deck, located catty-corner from the Sewell-Thomas Stadium along Paul W. Bryant Drive, is a free parking option for women's basketball fans Tuesday.

The Crimson Tide will begin its 48th season and its ninth under head coach Kristy Curry. The program boasts a 14-person roster, which features eight returners, including two who sat out last season, four transfers, all from Power 5 programs, and two freshmen.

Two returning starters are back for their senior seasons, including Megan Abrams and Hannah Barber. In 2020-21, Abrams ranked second on the team with 26 steals and third on the team with 118 rebounds. Barber returns as last season's assists leader with 107, while she ranked third on the team in steals with 21. Both Abrams and Barber were solid from long range, shooting 35.1 percent and 31.7 percent from beyond the arc, respectively, while they averaged 8.1 and 6.0 points per game.

Brittany Davis returns to the court after taking a year hiatus in 2020-21. Just two seasons ago, the then-sophomore played in all 30 contests, averaging 6.6 points per game and 2.0 rebounds per game off the bench. She was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week and College Sports Madness National Player of the Week that season after recording 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting to pair with five rebounds in a win over North Carolina on Dec. 15, 2019.

Opening Tip

Alabama returns to action for the first time in 230 days when it hosts Charleston Southern in the 2021-22 season opener. The Crimson Tide played its final game of the 2020-21 campaign on March 24, falling to Maryland, 100-64, in the NCAA Tournament Second Round.
Despite operating within the confines of the COVID-19 pandemic last season, Alabama put together a 17-10 record in 2020-21, posting its fewest losses since going 24-10 in 1997-98. The Crimson Tide also won eight Southeastern Conference games for the second season in a row, a feat that hadn't been achieved since 1996-97 – 1997-98.
Alabama got off to a hot start in league action after winning five of its first seven SEC games for the first time since 1997-98, including a ranked triumph at No. 14 Mississippi State on Jan. 14 (86-78). UA concluded the season ranked first in the league in free-throw percentage (75.4) and second in the league in 3-pointers (224) and 3-pointers per game (8.3).
The Crimson Tide is eager to return to a traditional schedule for the 2021-22 season, boasting a competitive 13-game, regular-season schedule, paired with a rigorous 16-game conference schedule. Alabama's nonconference schedule features 10 home games, two road games and a neutral-site matchup against Duke at the Maggie Dixon Classic in Fort Worth, Texas, Nov. 21. Its SEC schedule includes eight home games and eight road games.
The ESPN family of networks assigned Alabama to nine national slots for the upcoming season.
Alabama will play inside historic Coleman Coliseum for the sixth straight season.
The season opener between the Crimson Tide and the Buccaneers will mark the first meeting between the two programs.
Under head coach Kristy Curry, Alabama is 6-2 in season openers.

Scouting Charleston Southern

Charleston Southern concluded last season with a 6-17 record, including a 4-14 mark in the Big South.
The Buccaneers are under the direction of head coach Clarisse Garcia, who was hired on May 3, 2021.She took over the Buccaneers after coaching stops at Auburn, Wake Forest, Alabama, Palm Beach Atlantic and Stetson.
In addition to Garcia, the entire coaching staff, consisting of Stephanie Stoglin-Reed, Ashley Jones and Jordan Kyles, all enters year one in the Lowcountry.
Garcia spent the last five seasons at Auburn University, including serving as the program's interim head coach following the 2020-21 season.
Garcia served as an assistant at Alabama for one year, spending the 2011-12 season on the bench. During her time Alabama, she was primarily responsible for recruiting, player development, the elite camp and scouting.
CSU returns four of its five starters from last season, including nearly all of its offensive production from the 2020-21 team.
Alyssia Faye was the Bucs' leading scorer and rebounder last season, ranking inside the top 15 in the Big South in both scoring and rebounding at 11.9 points and 7.1 boards per game.
Sharita Godfrey is also back for her senior season after finishing third on the team in scoring (9.6 points per game) and second in rebounding (5.3 rebounds per game), while leading the team in 3-point percentage at 44.0 percent from beyond the arc.

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