Alabama
Vanderbilt
Crimson Tide Women’s Basketball Hosts Vanderbilt Sunday for We Back Pat Game
1/20/2018 5:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama women's basketball team (13-6, 3-3 SEC) welcomes the Vanderbilt Commodores (5-15, 1-5 SEC) to Tuscaloosa for the Crimson Tide's second home game of the week. Game time is set for 2 p.m. CT in Coleman Coliseum.
PROMOTIONS
• $1 admission for Big Al's Kids Club members
• Big Al's Kids Club Day: inflatables, McAlister's and stuffed Big Al giveaway
• Academic Achievement Night: students can redeem voucher for free admission for two
• Halftime Baby Race: win a one-month supply of diapers and Alabama baby bedding
• Superhero cape giveaway
THE BROADCAST
• Sunday's game will air on SEC Network + with Eli Gold and Rick Moody on the call and Rebecca Nesbitt reporting from the sidelines.
• The game can also be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network on 93.3 FM in Tuscaloosa with Roger Hoover on the broadcast.
OPENING TIP
• Today's game will serve as the Crimson Tide's 2018 We Back Pat game, which focuses on bringing awareness and recognition to The Pat Summitt Foundation and its fight against Alzheimer's disease.
• Alabama is also welcoming back several former student-athletes, managers and staff to today's game as part of its Alumni Weekend festivities.
• The Crimson Tide and Commodores will be meeting for the 48th time in program history and 21st in Tuscaloosa.
• Vanderbilt leads the series with Alabama, 34-13, however the Crimson Tide won the last meeting between the two teams, knocking the Commodores out of the 2017 Southeastern Conference Tournament in the first round, 77-57.
• Prior to that, Vanderbilt had won five straight. Alabama's last win against the Commodores in Tuscaloosa came on Feb. 8, 2004 (81-68).
SCOUTING ALABAMA
• Alabama enters Sunday's game with a 13-6 overall record and a 3-3 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
• UA is 9-2 in games played at Coleman Coliseum with the losses coming against then-No. 16/16 Missouri, 62-56, and then-No. 16/17 Texas A&M, 73-54.
• The Crimson Tide is led in scoring by senior Hannah Cook, who averages 11.5 points per game and in rebounding by fellow senior Ashley Williams, who averages 6.7 boards per contest. Sophomore Jordan Lewis leads the way in assists with 3.8 per game.
• Sophomore Ashley Knight leads the team and ranks fourth in the SEC and 22nd nationally in blocks per game with an average of 2.53. She is currently tied with Dee Merriweather for the No. 2 spot in career blocks at Alabama (138) and is 49 away from tying Yolanda Watkins (187) for most in program history.
• As a team, the Crimson Tide is averaging 68.2 points per game, 10.2 more than its opponents, and is outrebounding the opposition 41.3-37.0.
• After finishing the 2016-17 season last in the SEC in free throw percentage, Alabama has jumped up to fifth, hitting 71.0 percent of its attempts as a team.
• The Crimson Tide is averaging roughly 10 points more per game than its opponents in points in the paint (31.2-23.3) and bench points (25.7-16.7).
• In 17 of its 19 games this season, Alabama has had eight or more in the scoring column. In eight of those 17 games, 10 or more scored for the Crimson Tide.
• The Crimson Tide started its SEC season with a 3-1 record, which was its best mark since the 1997-98 season.
SCOUTING VANDERBILT
• Vanderbilt heads into Sunday's game with a 5-15 overall record and a 1-5 mark in SEC play.
• The Commodores have played the 11th toughest schedule in the nation this season.
• Vanderbilt is led in scoring by freshman Chelsie Hall (12.6 ppg) and senior Rachel Bell (12.3 ppg) and in rebounding by freshman Autumn Newby (6.8 rpg), while sophomore Kaleigh Clemons-Green leads the team in assists (2.8 apg).
• Vanderbilt is under the direction of second-year head coach Stephanie White. White spent the 10 years as a coach in the WNBA and most recently head coach of the Indiana Fever. She also had three stops as an assistant in the college ranks at Ball State, Kansas State and Toledo. White played five seasons in the WNBA after a standout career at Purdue, where she earned national Player of the Year accolades and a national champion in 1999.
PURDUE TIES
• Both sidelines for Thursday's game are filled with former coaches and student-athletes from Purdue. Kristy Curry and Kelly Curry coached the Boilermakers from 1999-2006, following Vanderbilt associate coach Carolyn Peck, who held the position from 1997-99 and won national championship in her final season. Commodore head coach Stephanie White was on that 1999 national championship team as was Vanderbilt assistant Kelly Komara (1998-2002). Komara finished out her career under Curry and played alongside Alabama assistant Shereka Wright. The Crimson Tide's director of operations Grant Fausset was also a practice player and manager for the Boilermakers during Curry's tenure.
