One of Two Remaining Road Games on Deck for Women’s Basketball

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama women's basketball will play its first of two remaining road games this season on Thursday, heading to Gainesville to face the Florida Gators. The game is slated for a 5 p.m. CT tip in Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

Follow Along

Thursday's game will air live on SEC Network+ with Kyle Crooks and Brittany Davis on the call and can also be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network (WTBC-AM 1230 in Tuscaloosa) with Roger Hoover providing the play-by-play.

Opening Tip

Alabama enters Thursday's game at Florida with a 13-6 overall record and 6-6 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
The Tide stands at No. 6 in the SEC standings.
Alabama currently ranks 33^rd in the NET with five of its six losses coming to teams ranked 21 or higher in the NET in No. 3 (South Carolina, twice), No. 16 (Georgia), No. 17 (Tennessee) and No. 21 (Kentucky).
The Tide is one of seven SEC teams ranked in the top 35 of the NET.
Alabama's 75.5 point-per-game average is the highest average it has had in nearly two decades.
The Tide is No. 2 in the SEC in free throw percentage (75.3) and top two in the league in nearly every three-point shooting category.
Alabama is led by its big three of Ariyah Copeland, Jordan Lewis and Jasmine Walker. Walker leads the way, averaging a double-double with 20.8 points and 10.2 rebounds, while Lewis adds 16.1 points, 4.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game and Copeland 14.2 points and 8.5 boards per outing.
Alabama has one of the top three-point shooters in the SEC and in the nation in Walker, who leads the league, and ranks top 8 nationally, in three-pointers per game (3.00), made (61) and attempted (148) and is No. 4 in percentage (41.2).
Walker is also the only player in the SEC to rank in the top five in the conference in both scoring and rebounding.
Walker was named SEC Player of the Week on Tuesday following her record-setting performance at Auburn where she scored 41 to become Alabama's single-game scoring leader.
Walker was also recently named a finalist for the 2021 Katrina McClain Award and to the Naismith Trophy Women's Midseason Team.
The Tide has one of the most experienced point guards in the SEC in Lewis, who has started every game she's played in since she arrived on campus in 2016 (122 games).
Lewis is also the SEC's active leader in assists (480) and is No. 4 in career steals (151), No. 5 in career points (1,429) and No. 14 in career rebounds (505).

Series Notes

Thursday's game is the 62nd in series history and the lone scheduled matchup of the 2021 season.
Alabama won the majority of the contests from the first in 1976 to the mid-2000s, however Florida has claimed 13 of the last 19 against the Tide.
Three of the wins for Alabama during that stretch came in the last four meetings, including last year's 69-62 victory in Tuscaloosa.

Last Five Meetings

Date	Win	Loss	Score	Location
Feb. 20, 2020	W		69-62	Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Feb. 7, 2019		L	55-57	Gainesville, Fla.
Jan. 3, 2019	W		74-67	Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Jan. 4, 2018	W		63-54	Gainesville, Fla.
Feb. 12, 2017		L	56-66	Tuscaloosa, Ala.

About Florida

The Gators are 10-9 overall and 3-8 in Southeastern Conference play.
Most recently, Florida lost a close contest to Kentucky at home, being edged 88-80 on Monday.
The Gators will finish out the season without leading scorer Lavender Briggs, who is out with a foot injury.
With the injury to Briggs, Kiara Smith leads the team in scoring with an average of 17.2 points per game as well as a team-high 6.8 rebounds, which she shares with Nina Rickards.
Smith is also the team's leader in assists, averaging 3.9 per contest.
As a team, Florida is scoring 67.5 points per game against SEC opponents while pulling down 39.4 rebounds.
The Gators are coached by Cam Newbauer, who is in his fourth year with the program.

Last Time Out

Jasmine Walker broke the near 30-year scoring record for Alabama women's basketball with a 41-point performance to lead the Crimson Tide to a 92-78 win at Auburn on Sunday.
Alabama has now swept the Tigers in back-to-back seasons.
Walker scored 21 of her 41 points in the fourth quarter, going 7-for-9 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
She also added 15 rebounds for a double-double and was joined in that category by Ariyah Copeland, who finished with 21 points and 11 boards.
Hannah Barber dished out a career-high 11 assists in addition to her nine points, while Jordan Lewis added seven assists with no turnovers and eight points.
For the game, Alabama shot 50.8 percent from the field and 53.6 percent from three-point range.
The Tide also outrebounded the Tigers, 40-24.

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