Alabama Hosts Houston in WNIT Round 3 at Coleman Coliseum Thursday

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The University of Alabama women's basketball team will at last return to its home court for the first time in 25 days when it hosts Houston in the Women's National Invitation Tournament Round 3 Thursday, March 24 at 6 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum. The contest will be broadcast on SEC Network+, with Gray Robertson and Richard Hendrix on the call.

Tickets to the contest start at just five dollars, and fans are encouraged to attend. Tickets can be purchased at RollTide.com, calling (205-348-BAMA) or visiting the TIDE PRIDE/Athletic Ticket office.

The first 200 students will receive free admission. Students should enter through the West Doors (normal student entrance) and bring their ACT card.
Alabama head coach Kristy Curry will purchase pizza for students in attendance.
Megan Abrams will be recognized for becoming the 31st player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points 12 minutes before tip time.

Free parking is available to fans in the large parking lot adjacent to Coleman Coliseum.

The Crimson Tide is 19-13 this season, including 6-10 in the Southeastern Conference and 11-6 in home games. The Tide has won seven of its last nine games, including five of its last six games. During that stretch, the Tide boasted a pair of Associated Press Top 25 wins.

Alabama is less than a month removed from a 2-1 record at the 2022 SEC Tournament, 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 Alabama's last appearance, it defeated Tulane, 81-77, in New Orleans, La., March 21. The Crimson Tide battled back from a five-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to go on a 12-3 run down the stretch, knocking off the Green Wave in the WNIT Round 2. In that game, Alabama made nine 3-pointers to break the decade-old, single-season, three-point field goal school record with 249 makes in 2021-22. Megan Abrams also scored 19 points to nose her way into the 1,000-point club.

Brittany Davis, who leads the conference in three-point field goals per game (2.7) and three-point field goals made (85), has led Alabama in scoring all season, averaging 17.4 points per game. Despite overcoming health challenges to start conference action, Megan Abrams has rediscovered her groove, tacking on 15.1 points per game, while JaMya Mingo-Young adds 11.5 points per game. Davis (7.1) and Mingo-Young (6.8) pace the Crimson Tide in rebounds.

Alabama and Houston met earlier this season, as the Crimson Tide outscored the Cougars in the second quarter, 23-10, on 69.2 percent shooting to set the pace for the rest of the game on Dec. 3. Alabama made 26 of its 54 attempts from the field for its third straight game of shooting over 45.0 percent at the time, while the Tide outrebounded the Cougs, 43-30, to win its fourth straight game over the program, 77-67.

About Alabama

Alabama will host Houston Thursday, March 24 at 6 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum for the WNIT Round 3.
- The Crimson Tide will be on the hunt for its first 20-win season since 2017-18, which also happens to be the last time the Tide reached the WNIT Quarterfinals.
The Crimson Tide is 19-13 this season.
- The Tide went 6-10 in the Southeastern Conference.
- The Tide went 2-1 in the SEC Tournament.
  - 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).
- The Tide is 11-6 at home, including 9-1 in nonconference contests at home.
- The Tide has won seven of the last nine games, including five of the last six games.
  - That run features two top-25 wins, including defeating then-No. 12/8 Tennessee and then-No. 24/21 Georgia.
Alabama is coming off an 81-77 win at Tulane in the WNIT Round 2 Monday, March 21 in New Orleans, La.
- In that game, Alabama broke the three-decade old, single-season, three-point field goal school record, knocking down 249 3-pointers this season.
- In that game, Megan Abrams reached the 1,000-point club, scoring 19 points for 1,009 career points, which ranks 31st in all-time school history.
  - Abrams will be recognized at center court 12 minutes before tip off Thursday.
- In that game, it marked Alabama's fourth time this season shooting 50.0 percent or better.
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 its opponents 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 ranked third in the conference in final points (557) and fourth in points per game (17.4).
- Overall this season, both Davis and Hannah Barber are ranked in the SEC top six in three-point field goals per game (2.7 and 2.2, respectively) and in three-point field goals made (85 and 68, respectively).
  - In fact, Davis is 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 Houston

Houston is 18-15 overall this season, including 7-9 in the American Athletic Conference.
- The Cougars are 4-8 in road games.
- The Cougars have won four of their last five games, including a semifinal run in its league tournament.
During the AAC schedule, the Cougars shot 37.3 percent from the field and 27.4 percent from long range, while it averaged 59.6 points per game.
- In conference action, the Cougars held its opponents to 39.9 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from long range, while its opponents averaged 60.6 points per game.
Two players averaged double-figure scoring during the AAC schedule, including Laila Blair (11.5) and Britney Onyeje (10.3).
- Tatyana Hill led the team in rebounding during the conference schedule (6.5).
Houston is leading its conference and ranked 16th in the nation in both steals (336) and blocked shots (4.7).

Inside the Series

Alabama leads the all-time meetings with Houston, 5-3, in a series that began in 1989.
Alabama has won four straight meetings with Houston, including the last three straight hosted in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The last time the two teams met, the Crimson Tide defeated the Cougars, 77-67, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021 in Coleman Coliseum, the fifth game in the Tide's seven-game win streak to close out the nonconference schedule.
Alabama has a 4-1 record against Houston in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Last Time Out

More than four months after losing to the nonconference foe in a close game down the stretch, the Alabama women's basketball team at last toppled Tulane, 81-77, in the Women's National Invitation Tournament Round 2 in New Orleans, La., Monday. The Crimson Tide improved to 19-13 (6-10) on the season, while the Green Wave fell to 21-10 (11-5) in 2021-22.
In the process, Megan Abrams reached the 1,000-point club after a pullup jumper in the third quarter to help Alabama get within two points of Tulane. The senior has combined for 1,009 points in nearly four seasons at the Capstone.
Four starters turned in double-digit performances Monday, Abrams included, as the Crimson Tide shot 50.0 percent from the field on 24-of-48 shooting. The Tide also made nine of its 19 attempts from long range and 24 of its 27 attempts from the line.
Brittany Davis paced the team in scoring and rebounding, recording 22 points and 10 rebounds to mark her seventh double-double of the season. More than half of her points came from the line, knocking down all 12 of her free-throw attempts. Davis added four assists and a steal in 39 minutes of action. Mingo-Young scored 21 points on an impressive 7-of-9 from the field, including sinking a pair of three-point field goals, while she added six rebounds and three assists to her stat line. Abrams added 19 points en route to her fifth straight game of scoring at least 19 points. Hannah Barber rounded out the foursome, tacking on 12 points thanks to four makes from long range. The senior also grabbed five rebounds off the glass.
The game featured balanced scoring, which included 20 lead changes and nine ties. Tulane took its biggest lead in the game, seven points, toward the end of the third quarter, but Alabama responded with a 10-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter to gain momentum down the stretch.
Alabama had its fourth game this season of shooting at least 50.0 percent from the field, while it also outrebounded the ninth-ranked rebounding team in the nation, 31-27.

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 3 matchup marks the Tide's 20th 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 13-7 in the WNIT.

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