Alabama Women's Basketball Aims to Keep Building, Opens WNIT at Troy

Crimson Tide's late-season run wasn't enough to get into the NCAA Tournament, but still could be a springboard for the 2022-23 season.

Alabama's women's basketball coach Kristy Curry calls the chance to play in the postseason "A blessing."

However, this wasn't the blessing she envisioned for the 2021-21 Crimson Tide. 

After coming up short in its bid to return to the Women's NCAA Tournament, Alabama found out its fate 10 days after playing in the SEC Tournament, and the WNIT selection committee didn't do it any favors. 

The first-round opponent? Troy, the Sun Belt regular-season champions. 

Moreover, the Crimson Tide has to play on the road. 

"We have a lot of respect for them," Curry said. "They have 24 wins on the year. They're the No. 1, get this now, the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the country. So their best shot is often their second shot, and they're relentless on the offensive glass.

"They do a great job of pushing the ball in transition. They play fast and furious." 

Alabama played just one in-state team this season, Auburn, but defeated the Tigers all three times. It also played an exhibition against Alabama-Huntsville. 

The winner of Thursday's game moves on to face the winner of Jacksonville State at Tulane, which would be played March 19-22. The 64-team tournament wraps up April 2.  

All-time, Alabama is 8-2 at Troy, but it hasn't played there since 2012. 

This is only the second time in program history that the Trojans will host a postseason game, the first being UAB for the first round of the 2019 WNIT. With a win, Troy would tie the single-season program wins record (25, 2019-20 season).

The Details 

What: WNIT, first round

Who: Alabama (17-13, 6-10 SEC) at Troy (24-8, 13-2 Sun Belt)

When: Thursday, 6 p.m. 

TV: ESPN3

Radio: TBA

Series: Alabama leads 17-3

Last meeting: Dec. 20, 2013, Alabama won 113-105 in Tuscaloosa. 

Scouting the Crimson Tide

• The Crimson Tide is 2-2 in neutral-site games this season. 

• Alabama had won six of its last eight games before getting bounced out of the SEC Tournament by Tennessee. 

• Alabama opened postseason play with 75-68 win against Auburn in the first round of the SEC Tournament, and and then defeated Georgia, 74-62.

• 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 it 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 was third in the conference in final points (473) and fourth in the conference in points per game (17.5). 

• Both Davis and Hannah Barber were ranked in the SEC top five in three-point field goals per game (2.82 and 2.32, respectively) and three-point field goals made (79 and 60, respectively).

Alabama's Starting 5

Alabama Athletics

G Brittany Davis

G Hannah Barber

Alabama Athletics

G Megan Abrams

University of Alabama

G JaMya Mingo-Young

Alabama Athletics

F Allie Craig Cruce

Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Pos. Name, Games, Avg. Points, Rebounds

G 1 Abrams, Megan 28 14.7 3.6

G 2 Mingo-Young, JaMya 29 10.7 7.0 

G 5 Barber, Hannah 28 8.1 2.4

G 23 Davis, Brittany 29 17.0 6.9 

F 12 Cruce, Allie Craig 24 3.1 1.6 

Scouting the Trojans 

• Chanda Rigby's team won the regular-season title in the Sun Belt, but lost in the tournament title game to UT Arlington, 76-61.

• The Trojans have taken claim to the Sun Belt regular season or tournament title in five of the last seven seasons.

• The average final score this season is 78.9-68.3. 

• Junior forward Felmas Koranga averages a double-double, with 12.7 points and 10.7 rebounds, and leads Troy in both categories. Junior forward Amber Leggett is the only other player to average double-digits in scoring at 11.9. 

• The Trojans have won 28 of their last 31 Sun Belt Conference games. Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Louisiana and Little Rock are the only teams to have beat the Trojans over the past two seasons. 

• This is from the Troy game notes before the season finale: "When you think of the best in college football, you think of Nick Saban. When you think of the best in Sun Belt women's basketball, you think Chanda Rigby. Nick Saban is 42-5 (.894) in his last 47 games vs SEC teams. Chanda Rigby is 46-6 (.884) in her last 52 games vs Sun Belt teams."

• The Trojans rank inside the top-10 nationally in defensive rebounds (1st), free throw attempts (1st), free throws made (1st), offensive rebounds (1st), rebounds (1st), rebounds per game (1st) and scoring offense (7th).