Women's Basketball Hosts No. 12/15 Nebraska on Sunday
12/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BROADCAST
Sunday's game will be televised on SEC Network + with Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and former Crimson Tide head coach Rick Moody (analyst) on the call. The game can also be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Roger Hoover announcing the action. There will be live updates throughout the game available on Twitter @AlabamaWBB.
SERIES HISTORY
This is the third meeting between Alabama and Nebraska and the second in two years. The two teams first met in the Preseason WNIT in 1997 where the Huskers earned a 74-66 victory in Lincoln. In last season's contest, which took place on Nov. 11, Nebraska topped the Tide, 62-48. Alabama hung with the top-20 Huskers for the majority of the game, but a 16-4 run in the second half helped the home team to the victory. The Tide did limit Nebraska's two-time All-American and player of the year candidate Jordan Hooper to eight points.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
Alabama looks to pick up its third win of the month Sunday after beating USC Upstate, 74-65, on Tuesday and UT Martin, 68-55, on Thursday. The Tide has shown a lot of balance in its production throughout the week with five different players scoring in double figures throughout the two games. In Tuesday's win over the Spartans, senior Briana Hutchen led Alabama with a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman Hannah Cook paced the Tide in the win over the Skyhawks with 23 points, which was also a career best. As a team, Alabama is shooting 41.2 percent from the field, scoring 66.0 points per game, and pulling down 40.6 rebounds per contest.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
Nebraska heads into Sunday's game with an undefeated 7-0 record after recently knocking off No. 9/8 Duke, 60-54, on Wednesday. The win was the first regular season non-conference victory over a top 10 opponents for the Huskers since they beat No. 5 LSU, 77-63, on Dec. 20, 2009. Nebraska is off to its best start since the 2009-10 season and is led by junior Rachel Theriot, who averages 19.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. The All-America point guard is joined in double figures by senior Emily Cady (14.6 ppg) and senior Tear'a Laudermill (11.0 ppg). Cady also leads the Huskers in rebounds with 8.4 boards per game. As a team, Nebraska is scoring 75.0 points per game, which is 18.7 points better than its opponents.
THE COACHES
Alabama head coach Kristy Curry has a history of success in her 15 year career. Nine of her teams have made the NCAA tournament, including a trip to the 2001 championship game while coaching at Purdue. With the Boilermakers, she won two Big Ten regular season titles. She holds an overall coaching record of 329-168 and has led nine teams to 20-win seasons. Nebraska is led by Connie Yori, who is in her 13th season at the helm of the Huskers and 25th as a head coach. She is the reigning two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and earned Big 12 and National Coach of the Year honors in 2010 when Nebraska went 32-2. Yori owns a 443-282 record overall, which includes a 248-142 mark as coach of the Huskers.
