Women’s Basketball Closes out Regular-Season Home Slate with No. 3 Texas A&M

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama women's basketball's 2020-21 home slate will come to a close on Thursday when the Crimson Tide hosts the third-ranked Texas A&M Aggies. Tip is set for 6 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum.

FOLLOW ALONG

Thursday's game will air live on SEC Network+ with Eli Gold and Rick Moody 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 final home game of the season with a 15-6 overall record and 8-6 mark in SEC play.
The Tide is currently No. 6 in the SEC standings.
Alabama ranks 29^th in the NET with five of its six losses coming to teams ranked 22 or better in the NET in No. 3 (South Carolina, twice), No. 15 (Tennessee), No. 16 (Georgia) and No. 22 (Kentucky).
The Tide is one of seven SEC teams ranked in the top 30 of the NET.
During Thursday's game, Alabama will recognize Dr. James King Jr., Culverhouse Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Miles-Rose Professor of Leadership in the College's Department of Management and Faculty Athletics Representative, as part of the Advancement of Blacks in Sports Historical Hidden Figures initiative. Teams from across the league have selected one individual to highlight during a home game this month that has had a significant impact on the program.
Alabama's 75.3 point-per-game average is the highest average it has had in nearly two decades.
The Tide is No. 1 in the SEC in free throw percentage (75.7) 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 just shy of a double-double with 20.8 points and 9.9 rebounds, while Lewis adds 16.3 points, 4.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game and Copeland 14.5 points and 8.4 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 (3.24), made (68) and attempted (161) and is No. 4 in the SEC in percentage (42.2).
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 last week 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 (124 games).
Lewis is also the SEC's active leader in assists (486) and is No. 4 in career steals (152), No. 5 in career points (1,464) and No. 14 in career rebounds (508).

SERIES NOTES

Alabama and Texas A&M will be meeting for only the 11th time as the series between the Crimson Tide and Aggies began when Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2013.
The Aggies won nine straight before Alabama picked up its first win with a 76-63 decision last season in Bryan-College Station.
In the earlier meeting in 2020, the Tide led by as many as 11 in Tuscaloosa before Texas A&M mounted a comeback late, outscoring Alabama 28-18 in the fourth quarter for the 79-74 win.

Last Five Meetings

Feb. 27, 2020	W		76-63	College Station, Texas
Jan. 23, 2020		L	74-79	Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Jan. 13, 2019		L	43-70	College Station, Texas
Jan. 18, 2018		L	54-73	Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Feb. 9, 2017		L	48-69	College Station, Texas

ABOUT TEXAS A&M

Texas A&M is one of three teams to reach 20 wins this season thus far as the Aggies stand at 20-1 and 11-1 against league opponents with the lone loss of the season coming in overtime, 65-61, at LSU.
Texas A&M is in the midst of an eight-game winning streak.
The Aggies' starting five is extremely balanced, with all averaging between 8.8 and 13.1 points per game.
N'dea Jones averages a double-double of 12.0 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest.
As a team, Texas A&M is averaging 76.0 points per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the floor, good for second in the SEC.
The Aggies are under the direction of Women's Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Blair, who is in his 18^th season with Texas A&M. Blair led the Aggies to the 2011 NCAA Championship and is 12^th all-time in career wins.

LAST TIME OUT

On Senior Day, Alabama's big three combined for 54 points to lead the Crimson Tide offensively to a 71-63 win over Mississippi State in Coleman Coliseum.
Once again, Walker was the team's leader in scoring with 20 points, while Copeland was right behind with 19 points and 11 rebounds – making it her eighth double-double this season.
Lewis added 15 points to the trio's scoring. Megan Abrams kept the Tide rolling with nine points, six rebounds and a career-high seven assists, and Hannah Barber added six assists compared to just one turnover.
Alabama shot over 50 percent in the first and fourth quarters with a final percentage of 47.6.
The Tide also had a successful night distributing the ball, totaling for a combined 20 assists across the team.
Alabama capitalized on the Bulldogs' 16 turnovers and kept a double-digit lead for the majority of the game to finish on top in Tuscaloosa.
Walker had another 20-plus point game, her 13th time this season. Six of those outings have come in SEC play.
Abrams reached a career-high of seven assists, beating out her previous best of six set against Oklahoma State earlier in the year. In the last two games, she's averaged 8.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals.
Copeland has eight double-doubles this season and 16 for her career.
Lewis reached double-figure points for the 16th time this season, including all but one conference game where she had eight.
Alabama scored 22 points off 16 Mississippi State miscues.

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University of Alabama Athletics

Women’s Basketball Closes out Regular-Season Home Slate with No. 3 Texas A&M

Players Mentioned

Megan Abrams

Hannah Barber

Ariyah Copeland

Jordan Lewis

Jasmine Walker

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