South Coast Times

Alabama Hosts Georgia in SEC Opener Thursday

The Alabama women's basketball team opens Southeastern Conference play against Georgia on Thursday inside Coleman Coliseum. The two teams will tip off at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

Alabama closed its non-conference slate on a nine-game winning streak which included two 60-plus point wins in the month of December. UA enters Thursday's game with 10 straight wins at home and seven victories inside Coleman Coliseum this season.

The Game

• Alabama (11-2) vs. Georgia (11-3) 
• Series History: 58th meeting vs. Lady Bulldogs

How to Follow

• SEC Network
  • Gray Robertson (play-by-play) and Richard Hendrix (analyst) on the call
• CTSN
  • Roger Hoover (play-by-play) on the call
• Updates will be provided on the team's official Twitter account, @AlabamaWBB

About the Tide

• UA ranks 14th in the latest NET rankings
• Alabama closed the non-conference schedule on a nine-game winning streak which included a perfect 7-0 run at home
• Jada Rice ranks third in the NCAA for blocks (38) and sixth for blocks per game (2.92), while also tallying 6.7 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game
• Brittany Davis leads the team in both scoring (17.2 ppg) and rebounds (6.8 rpg)
• Aaliyah Nye ranks sixth nationally in three-point percentage (51.6)
• Nye ranks second on the team in scoring (9.1 ppg), while Hannah Barber leads the program in assists (3.0 apg)   
• Karly Weathers earned the program's first SEC weekly honor for the 2022-23 season, being named the conference co-freshman of the week after recording career-highs in points (21) and rebounds (6) vs. North Florida
• As a team, Alabama ranks sixth nationally in three pointers per game (10.2), ninth in three-point percentage (39.7), 11th in scoring defense (52.7), 18th in scoring margin (22.3) and 22nd in field goal percentage (46.7)
• In its last outing, Alabama captured a 64-point win over North Florida, which is tied for the eighth-largest margin of victory in Crimson Tide history
• The win marked the first time in program history Alabama has recorded two 60-plus point wins in the same month and the third time UA has accomplished the feat in the same year as the team recorded a 62-point win (92-30) against Norfolk State Dec. 18
• The Tide has had a combined 47 three-pointers in its last three games, knocking down a program-record 17 against Norfolk State and 15 against both Southeastern Louisiana and North Florida
• Alabama has now defeated six teams by 25 or more points this season (Alabama A&M 98-51, Gardner-Webb 89-60, Mercer 88-52, Little Rock 69-44, Norfolk State 92-30, North Florida 89-25)

The Lady Bulldogs  

• The two teams will meet for the 58th time with Alabama winning the last meeting in a 74-62 victory in the 2022 SEC Tournament
• Georgia is coming off a 19-point win over San Diego State (63-44) in its last outing
• The Lady Bulldogs are led by Diamond Battles who averages 15.0 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game and 3.4 assists per game
• Javyn Nicholson and Brittany Smith pace the team in boards, averaging 6.8 and 6.6 rebounds per game, respectively
• Smith has tallied 10.9 points per game, second best on the team
• UGA ranks 14th nationally in offensive rebounds per game (16.4) and is 25th in scoring defense (54.7)
• Malury Bates holds a team-leading 1.3 blocks per game while Alisha Lewis holds a team leading 3.7 assists per game and 2.0 steals per game  

For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaWBB on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. General athletic news can be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.

Original source can be found here