Alabama Women's Basketball Prepares for Its NCAA Tournament Opener Against Baylor

The Crimson Tide has to contend with the Lady Bears in a Round of 64 game in Connecticut.

Alabama Athletics

Before Nate Oats and the men's team take the floor for its Round of 32 game against Maryland, Alabama women's basketball will play against Baylor in the Round of 64 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

Kristy Curry's squad will take the floor in Storrs, CT as a 10-seed, where it will battle the 7-seeded Lady Bears.

Both teams probably wished they started their tournament runs on better terms: Alabama has lost its last four games (three in the regular season and an early exit in the SEC Tournament) while Baylor has lost back-to-back games and six of its last nine.

"I think we're in similar situations," Curry said during Friday's press conference. "I was thinking about that exact scenario. I think it just comes down to will. Your will right now has to be stronger than your skill. They're obviously very talented and we feel like we're very talented.

"It's a brand new season. It will be interesting to see whose will is a little bit stronger than the other's."

Despite the recently rough stretch, both teams do have talent, especially Baylor. The Lady Bears' two leading scorers received All-Big 12 honors; Sarah Andrews was named to the first team while Caitlin Bickle was named to the second team and All-Defensive team.

Furthermore, freshman Darianna Littlepage-Buggs was named Freshman of the Year and was also named an honorable mention in the Big 12.

"Their guard play is really good, as well as their post players' ability to shoot the ball and stretch the floor," guard Hannah Barber said about Baylor. "Personnel and our ability to play it correctly is going to be really important for us. They're also really good in transition. So getting the ball stopped and getting our defense set to try to slow them down is going to be a key for us."

The Crimson Tide comes with its own firepower, though. Brittany Davis is an All-SEC First Team selection that can get hot from 3-point range, and Baylor head coach Nicki Collen is well aware of that.

"She is super effective when she is scoring from three, and getting stuff in transition, and playing downhill," Collen said. "She does a good job of getting downhill and getting the three-point shot off when she is being guarded by bigger defenders."

Collen also mentioned that multiple players, including Barber, Aaliyah Nye and Sarah Ashley Barker, are capable of scoring double figures, so it becomes a balance of keeping Davis and everyone else in check.

On the Alabama side, Curry said the primary focus is to defend Baylor's actions off of screens and protecting the rim.

"They're really dynamic with their European ball screen and the things that they do," Curry said. "We've got to understand the importance of protecting the rim. We've got to make sure that we do that first and foremost.

"Secondly, we've got to get back in transition and limit their looks at the rim. They do a phenomenal job of sprinting free-throw line to free-throw line. So you got to protect the rim against Baylor to have success. I think that's going to be a big challenge for us tomorrow."

The winner between the Crimson Tide and the Lady Bears will have the reward of potentially playing UConn in the Round of 32, but both teams are solely invested in the challenge right in front of them.

See also: Alabama's Last Tournament Win over Maryland Helped Build Foundation for Program's Current Success

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