Women's Basketball Hosts Austin Peay on Saturday
12/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The women's basketball team continues its five-game home stand Saturday when it hosts Austin Peay at 2:00 p.m. (CST) in Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide enters the matchup fresh off an overtime win against Florida A&M bringing its season record to 7-3. Most recently, the Lady Govs dropped a road match against Middle Tennessee State bringing their overall standings to 4-6.
"We are going through a busy stretch here where we're playing three games in six days, so we have been stressing the idea of generating our own energy," said head coach Wendell Hudson. "This situation is allowing us to adapt to playing a lot of games in a short period of time and adjusting to the different styles of play we might see. This is something that will definitely help us out down the road. Our ultimate goal is to just keep getting better and better with each game."
Alabama and Austin Peay:
Today's contest is the third in program history between the Crimson Tide and Lady Govs. The last time the two teams met was nearly two decades ago in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 15, 1992 where Alabama won 111-79. The other matchup took place at Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn. one year prior on Dec. 17, 1991. The Tide also emerged victorious on the road against the Lady Govs taking the game 97-80.
Scouting Austin Peay:
Austin Peay is 4-6 on the season thus far. The Lady Govs most recently dropped a road game at Middle Tennessee State 62-53. Another common opponent Austin Peay has faced is Louisville where the Lady Govs lost 72-42.
Leading Austin Peay on offense is sophomore guard/forward Ashley Herring who averages 12.3 points per game in just over 30 minutes. The Lady Govs also have two other players that average double-digit points in junior forward Nicole Jamen and junior guard Brooke Faulkner. Jamen contributes 10.1 points per game while Faulkner adds another 10.0. Freshman guard Emily Pollock is responsible for much of the play-making with an average of 5.6 assists a night. She also leads the team in steals with 2.8 per game. Jamen and Herring top the Lady Govs in rebounds for a combined average of 13.3 boards a contest.
Alabama and the Ohio Valley Conference:
In Alabama's program history it has met up with Ohio Valley Conference opponents a total of 20 times. Entering today's game, the Crimson Tide owns an 18-2 series advantage against the four OVC institutions it has faced. The Tide has played Tennessee State the most of any in the league winning all eight matchups. Alabama has faced Tennessee Tech a total of seven times where the series stands at 5-2 in favor of the Tide. Alabama has had five meeting with Jacksonville State and won all five of them, and has had two games resulting in two wins against Austin Peay. Below is a complete listing of Alabama in games versus OVC opponents.
| Dec. 22, 2007 | Jacksonville State | W, 63-54 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Nov. 30, 2007 | Tennessee Tech | W, 53-47 | Cookeville, Tenn. |
| Nov. 17, 2006 | Tennessee Tech | W, 71-56 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Dec. 11, 2004 | Tennessee Tech | W, 62-59 | Cookeville, Tenn. |
| Dec. 15, 2003 | Tennessee Tech | W, 83-61 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Dec. 2, 1003 | Jacksonville State | W, 81-52 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Dec. 18, 2001 | Jacksonville State | W, 72-53 | Jacksonville, Ala. |
| March 4, 1994 | Tennessee State | W, 94-60 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Dec. 15, 1992 | Austin Peay | W, 111-79 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| March 18, 1992 | Tennessee Tech | W, 100-87 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Dec. 17, 1991 | Austin Peay | W, 97-80 | Clarksville, Tenn. |
| Nov. 27, 1990 | Jacksonville State | W, 89-79 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Feb. 8, 1990 | Jacksonville State | W, 69-63 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Feb. 5, 1990 | Tennessee Tech | L, 74-63 | Cookeville, Tenn. |
| Dec. 17, 1988 | Tennessee Tech | L, 66-57 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Nov. 29, 1988 | Tennessee State | W, 107-43 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Nov. 27, 1987 | Tennessee State | W, 103-56 | Nashville, Tenn. |
| Jan. 9, 1987 | Tennessee State | W, 84-28 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Nov. 22, 1985 | Tennessee State | W, 89-81 | Nashville, Tenn. |
| Nov. 19, 1984 | Tennessee State | W, 91-46 | Tuscaloosa, Ala |
Who to Watch:
Sophomore Tierney Jenkins has been a force on offense for the Tide lately. In the past three games she's led Alabama in scoring with an average of 15 points during that span. In the Tide's last game Jenkins scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. In addition, she racked up four assists, two blocks and two steals.
Last Time Out:
Alabama edged Florida A&M 70-68 in overtime Wednesday, Dec. 17 in Coleman Coliseum before a rocking crowd of 4,147. Sophomore forward Tierney Jenkins led the Tide with 17 points and 10 rebounds, posting her first double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Varisia Raffington also scored in double digits with 10 points and dished out two assists. Junior guard Dedrea Magee led Alabama in assists with four. The Rattlers were led by Stephanie Foster with 17 points and seven boards. Alabama held Florida A&M to under 35 percent from the field for the game and under 28 percent from behind the arc. Alabama shot 33 percent from the field and 72 percent from behind the free throw line. The close contest saw 21 lead changes and 13 ties. The Tide bench had another stellar game contributing 33 points.
Alabama Nearing 600th win:
Alabama is just four wins away from its 600th victory in program history. The Tide's overall record currently stands at 596-415. Alabama hit the 500-win mark on Jan. 28, 2001 with a 67-64 win over Ole Miss.
Rejected:
Alabama is averaging 5.2 blocks per game ranking it fifth in the SEC. The Tide's season-high came against UCF on Dec. 3 when Alabama recorded nine rejections. All but one player on the team has tallied at least a single block with junior Courtney Strauthers leading the way with 10.
Russell from Downtown:
Freshman Ericka Russell has taken better than 70 percent of her shots (53-75) from three-point range this season. She is tied for the most three-pointers made thus far with 17 and averages 32.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Lucky Number 13:
Junior Courtney Strauthers collected a career-high 13 points in Alabama's win over UCF on Dec. 3. That same night, sophomore Daleisha Carn pulled down a career-best 13 rebounds. In the Tide's next game against Sam Houston State, Carn dished out a career-high 13 assists. Carn then collected a season-high 13 points at Middle Tennessee State on Dec. 14.
Equal Opportunity Scorers:
In Alabama's 10 games, four different players have led the Tide in scoring. Sophomore Tierney Jenkins has been Alabama's leading scorer five times, while sophomore Alyson Butler and freshman Ericka Russell have topped the Tide twice each. Sophomore Katie Hancock has led in point production once.
Strauthers Hitting Better than .500 for Career:
Junior Courtney Strauthers is currently averaging 53.9 percent from the floor for her career. She finished her freshman season at 51.3 percent followed by her sophomore year at 56.8 percent. She is 29-55 on the season thus far for a 52.7 clip.
Ericka Russell Voted to the Nugget Classic All-Tournament Team:
Alabama freshman Ericka Russell was one of six players named to the Nugget Classic All-Tournament Team. The squad was voted on by the four participating coaches. She finished the two-game Classic with 24 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two assists.
Variety is the Spice of Life:
A total of 14 players have seen court time in Alabama's games this season. Eleven of those 14 players are averaging 10 minutes or more. Junior Dedrea Magee leads the way with 22.8 minutes per outing.
`Bama on the Boards:
The Tide has been dominant on the boards out-rebounding its opponents by an average of 7.4 per game while collecting a total of 48.2 per contest. Alabama pulled down 50 rebounds or more in seven of 10 games this season, including a high of 60 against Sam Houston State on Dec. 7.
I'll Take my Bench over your Bench:
Alabama's bench scoring has accounted for an average of 37.2 points per game this season and 372 points overall. That is over half of the Tide's total point output thus far. Below is a list of how many points the bench has produced in each game:
Nov. 14, 2008 vs. Centenary - 28 points
Nov. 18, 2008 vs. Samford - 24 points
Nov. 22, 2008 at Hampton - 35 points
Nov. 25, 2008 vs. Alabama State - 52 points
Nov. 28, 2008 vs. Louisville - 43 points
Nov. 29, 2008 vs. Northern Iowa - 38 points
Dec. 3, 2008 vs. UCF - 36 points
Dec. 7, 2008 vs. Sam Houston State - 46 points
Dec. 14, 2008 at MTSU - 37 points
Dec. 17, 2008 vs. Florida A&M - 33 points
60 is the Magic Number:
In two of Alabama's three losses, the Tide has failed to reach the 60-point mark, but in all seven of its wins has eclipsed that mark. Alabama is currently averaging 68.9 points per game. The last time the Tide averaged this many, or more, points a game was in the 2001-02 season when it collected 73.7 points per outing.
Tide Welcomes Six Newcomers:
A total of six new players will dawn the crimson and white this season for the women's basketball team. Carmen McCoy, Kayla Robinson, Ericka Russell and Candace Sykes all signed on nearly one year ago, while Danielle Hicks and Candiss Willingham were added as walk-ons.
Fresh Faces on the Sidelines:
Wendell Hudson returns to the sidelines after spending the last six years in administration to head up the Alabama women's basketball team. Hudson, who possesses 26 years of basketball coaching experience, is no stranger to Alabama as he was the first African-American scholarship athlete at the Capstone while playing under C.M. Newton. Joining him will be former Tide standouts Joni Crenshaw and Stacey Franklin along with Ty Evans, who enters his second season as a member of the Alabama staff.
Next up:
Alabama will play its final game before the holidays on Monday, Dec. 22 when it takes on Alabama A&M in Coleman Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (CST). This will be the fifth game in history between the Tide and Bulldogs. Alabama currently leads the series 4-0.
