Alabama
Troy
Crimson Tide Women’s Basketball, Trojans Square Off in WNIT Round 1 In-State Showdown
3/16/2022 12:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The contest will be broadcast on ESPN3, with Barry McKnight and Jerry Miller on the call
TROY, Ala. - The University of Alabama women's basketball team will meet Troy for the first time this season, when the two teams compete at the 2022 Women's National Invitation Tournament Round 1 Thursday, March 17 at 6 p.m. CT at Trojan Arena in Troy, Ala. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN3, with Barry McKnight and Jerry Miller on the call.
Tickets start at just five dollars, and fans are encouraged to attend. Tickets can be purchased at TroyTrojans.com/WNIT, calling 1-877-878-WINS (9467) or by visiting the Troy Ticket Office.
The Crimson Tide is 17-13 this season, including 6-10 in the Southeastern Conference and 4-5 in road games. The Tide has won five of its last seven games, including three of its last four games. During its last seven games, the Tide boasted a pair of Associated Press Top 25 wins.
Alabama is coming off a 2-1 record at the 2022 SEC Tournament, becoming one of just three teams to win at least two games at the event, joining the company of SEC Regular Season Champions South Carolina and SEC Tournament Champions Kentucky.
In its last game of the tournament, the Alabama Crimson Tide lost to the then-No. 18/15 Tennessee Lady Volunteers, 74-59, in the quarterfinals March 4.
Megan Abrams had a strong showing at the tournament, averaging 22.7 points per game across three straight days of action. Perhaps her most impressive game featured her 24 points and seven rebounds to help take down then-No. 24/21 Georgia in the second round. It complimented Brittany Davis' 26 points and five rebounds in that pairing, limiting the ranked Lady Bulldogs to just one night at the tournament.
Allie Craig Cruce came on the scene at the tournament, turning in three straight double-digit scoring performances and resetting her season highs in points (14), rebounds (6), steals (2), minutes (23), field goals (5), three-point field goals (4) and free throws (3) at the tournament.
During conference action, All-SEC Second Team selection Davis led the team in scoring average (17.5). Megan Abrams followed with 13.7 points per game, while Mingo-Young added 11.2 points per game. Davis (7.0) and Mingo-Young (6.7) also led the team in rebounding average.
About Alabama
- Alabama will meet Troy Thursday, March 17 at 6 p.m. CT in Trojan Arena in Troy, Ala., for the WNIT Round 1.
- The Crimson Tide is 17-13 this season.
- The Tide went 6-10 in the Southeastern Conference.
- The Tide went 2-1 in the SEC Tournament.
- The Tide is 4-5 in road games, including 1-0 in nonconference road games.
- The Tide has won five of the last seven games, including three of the last four games.
- During those five wins in seven games, Alabama had two top-25 wins, including defeating then-No. 12/8 Tennessee and then-No. 24/21 Georgia.
- Alabama is coming off a 74-59 loss against then-No. 18/15 Tennessee in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals Friday, March 4 in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
- The Crimson Tide was one of just three teams to win at least two games in Nashville. The other two teams were South Carolina (SEC Regular Season Champions) and Kentucky (SEC Tournament Champions).
- During the SEC schedule, the Crimson Tide shot 39.1 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from long range, while it averaged 65.2 points per game.
- In conference action, the Tide held its opponents to 45.0 percent from the field and 30.2 percent from long range, while it averaged 72.5 points per game.
- During the SEC schedule, three players averaged double-figure scoring in Brittany Davis (18.7), Megan Abrams (13.1) and JaMya Mingo-Young (11.3).
- Overall this season, Davis is fourth in the conference in final points (518) and fourth in the conference in points per game (17.3).
- Both Davis and Hannah Barber are ranked in the SEC top five in three-point field goals per game (2.8 and 2.1, respectively) and the top six in three-point field goals made (84 and 62, respectively).
- In fact, Davis is currently the SEC leader in both categories.
- During the SEC schedule, JaMya Mingo-Young led the team in rebounding average (7.0), followed closely by Davis (6.9).
- Megan Abrams was named to the 2022 SEC Community Service Team Wednesday, Feb. 23.
- Brittany Davis was named to the 2022 All-SEC Second Team, for the first time in her career, Tuesday, March 1.
About Troy
- Troy is 24-8 overall this season, including 13-2 in the Sun Belt Conference.
- The Trojans are 12-1 at home.
- The Trojans earned a bid to the WNIT as the Sun Belt's automatic qualifier.
- The contest marks the second time in program history the Trojans will host a postseason matchup, after hosting UAB for the WNIT Round 1 in 2019.
- The Trojans are one win removed from tying their single-season program wins record (25 in 2019-20).
- Troy won the SBC's Regular Season Title with its 13-2 mark in the league.
- Troy had an 11-game win streak from Jan. 15 to March 6.
- During the SBC schedule, the Trojans shot 38.2 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from long range, while it averaged 78.9 points per game.
- In conference action, the Trojans held its opponents to 37.2 percent from the field and 26.6 percent from long range, while it averaged 68.3 points per game.
- Two players are averaging double-figure scoring overall this season, including Felmas Koranga (12.7) and Amber Leggett (11.9).
- Koranga is also leading the team in rebound average (12.7).
Inside the Series
- Alabama leads the all-time meetings with Troy, 17-3, in a series that began in 1974.
- The Crimson Tide hasn't lost to the Trojans since Jan. 10, 1979, as the Tide rides a 14-game win streak since that pairing.
- Alabama and Troy haven't met since Dec. 20, 2013, when the Crimson Tide defeated the Trojans 113-105 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
- UA has an 8-2 record in Troy, Ala., with its solo two losses occurring in back-to-back defeats in the year of 1975.
Last Time Out
- The 11th-seeded University of Alabama women's basketball team dropped to third-seeded Tennessee, 74-59, in the 2022 Southeastern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Friday, March 4. The Crimson Tide fell to 17-13 (6-10), while the No. 18/15 Lady Volunteers improved to 23-7 (11-5) in 2021-22.
- Megan Abrams scored a team-high 19 points on 5-of-11 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line. She added four rebounds and one assist in 36 minutes of action. Allie Craig Cruce, who made her fourth start this season, rallied 12 points on 4-of-9 from the field and a perfect 3-of-3 from the line. JaMya Mingo-Young led the team in rebounds and steals with six and three, respectively, while Hannah Barber paced the Crimson Tide on four assists.
- Alabama trailed Tennessee for the entire game, with the Lady Volunteers earning its largest lead in the first quarter after jumping out to a 15-5 lead. The Crimson Tide shot 31.7 percent from the field on 19-of-60, while the Lady Volunteers shot 46.4 percent from the field, making 25 of their 56 attempts. The Tide made five three-point field goals and 16 free throws in the game, compared to the Vols' six from long range and 16 makes at the line.
Alabama's History in the WNIT
- The WNIT appearance is the Crimson Tide's eighth in program history and fourth under head coach Kristy Curry, while the Round 1 matchup marks the Tide's 18th game in the tournament.
- In its most recent appearance in the tournament, Alabama won three straight games at home, before losing to Virginia Tech, 74-67, in the quarterfinals in Blacksburg, Va., on March 24, 2018. Alabama has reached the WNIT Quarterfinals three times in program history, its best finish in the tournament (2002, 2017 and 2018).
- Alabama is 11-7 in the WNIT.
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