Women’s Basketball Set for NCAA Tournament Opener Against UNC

Monday, March 22

San Antonio, Texas

11 a.m. CT

Alabama

North Carolina

Women’s Basketball Set for NCAA Tournament Opener Against UNC

3/21/2021 2:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball

WatchESPN Listen Live Live Stats Game Notes

Crimson Tide and Tar Heels to tip at 11 a.m. CT Monday on ESPN

SAN ANTONIO – NCAA Tournament play begins Monday for seventh-seeded Alabama women's basketball where it will face 10^th-seeded North Carolina in the first round. The game will be played in the Alamodome and will tip at 11 a.m. CT.

FOLLOW ALONG

Monday's game will air live on ESPN with Jenn Hildreth, Kelly Gramlich and Holly Rowe 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 heads into NCAA tournament play at 16-9 overall and finished the Southeastern Conference portion of its schedule at 8-8.
The Tide recorded back-to-back eight win seasons in conference play for the first time since 1996-97 – 1997-98.
Alabama ranks 33rd in the NET with eight of its nine losses coming to teams ranked 18 or better in the NET in No. 4 South Carolina (three times), No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 13 Georgia, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 17 Arkansas and No. 18 Kentucky.
Alabama's 74.8 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 (75.5) 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 19.2 points and 9.6 rebounds, while Lewis adds 16.8 points, 4.2 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game and Copeland 15.0 points and 8.5 boards per outing.
Walker and Lewis both earned All-SEC honors with Walker on the first team and Lewis on the second team. This marks the first time since 1998 that the Tide has placed two on the All-SEC First and/or Second Teams in the same season.
Alabama has one of the top three-point shooters in the SEC and in the nation in Walker, who is top three in the league, and ranks top 20 nationally, in three-pointers per game (2.88), makes (72) and attempts (180) and is No. 3 in the SEC in percentage (40.0).
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 is also recently a finalist for the 2021 Katrina McClain Award and was named 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. Her 128 games started is the most in program history.
Lewis is also the SEC's active leader in assists (501) and is No. 4 in career steals (157), No. 4 in career points (1,541) and No. 15 in career rebounds (522).

NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES

Alabama is making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1999.
This is the Tide's 11th overall trip to the Big Dance.
Alabama is 16-10 in the NCAA tournament, with its deepest run coming in 1994 when it advanced to the Final Four.
The Tide made eight consecutive NCAA tournament appearances from 1992-99 and 10 overall (1984, 88).
Head Coach Kristy Curry is taking her third team to the NCAA tournament after having made trips to the Big Dance at Purdue (2000-06) and Texas Tech (2011, 13).

SERIES NOTES

Alabama and North Carolina are meeting for the 11th time in the series and second time in as many years.
The Tide won the last matchup, 83-77, in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 15, 2019.
Ironically, the two teams met the last time the Alabama played in the NCAA tournament, with the then-11th ranked Tar Heels winning, 70-56, in Chapel Hill in the second round of the 1999 tournament.
The majority of the games between the two have been played at neutral sites with UNC holding a slight 3-2 edge.

Last Five Meetings

Dec. 15, 2019	W		83-77	Tuscaloosa, Ala.
March 14, 1999		L	56-70	Chapel Hill N.C.
Dec. 20, 1998		L	75-90	Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Dec. 20, 1996	W		88-75	Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Dec. 30, 1993		L	83-89	Orlando, Fla.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina heads into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed.
The Tar Heels are 13-10 overall and finished the conference season with an 8-9 record.
North Carolina has won five of its last seven games.
The Tar Heels have five players averaging double figures, led by Janelle Bailey, who averages a team-best 13.5 points and 8.1 rebounds.
As a team, North Carolina is averaging 74.8 points per game and 43.7 rebounds per contest.
The Tar Heels are coached by Courtney Banghart, who is in her second season in Chapel Hill. Prior to UNC, she was the head coach at Princeton for 12 years, where her teams won seven Ivy League crowns and made eight NCAA Tournament appearances.

LAST TIME OUT

Alabama outscored No. 7 South Carolina in three of the four quarters but couldn't overcome the early deficit, falling 75-63 in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Southeastern Conference Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
Lewis led all scorers with 25 points, including a 9-for-10 effort from the free throw line, and added six rebounds and four assists.
She was joined in double figures by Copeland, who had 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks.
For the game, the Tide shot 41.5 percent from the floor and 86.7 percent from the free throw line.
Alabama was outrebounded by the Gamecocks, 36-29.
Early turnovers set Alabama back early and allowed South Carolina to score 12 unanswered before the Tide got its first basket of the game at the 5:09 mark.
The Gamecocks would extend their lead out to 20 by quarter's end, 26-6.
South Carolina took a 27-point advantage midway through the second, however the Tide would close out the frame on a 14-3 run to set the halftime score at 42-26.
The two teams traded baskets for much of the third with Alabama outscoring the Gamecocks 21-19 in the quarter.
The Tide used a 12-5 run over a near five-minute span to cut the South Carolina lead to seven but was unable to get any closer down the stretch.
Lewis recorded her 20th double-digit scoring performance of the season and 83rd of her career. She was also above the 20-point mark for the eighth time in 2020-21.
Copeland hit seven of her eight attempts from the floor, tallying her only miss late in the fourth. She was also a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line.

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