Women's Basketball Vs. Bulldogs In SEC

DULUTH, Ga. – The Alabama women’s basketball team opens Southeastern Conference Tournament play on Wednesday when it takes on Mississippi State in the first round at The Arena at Gwinnett Center. The game is set to tip at 6 p.m. EST (5 p.m. central) and will air on Fox Sports South.

Alabama, the number 13 seed, and the 12th-seeded Bulldogs will be meeting for the 51st time in program history and second this season. In the previous meeting, Mississippi State earned a 75-51 victory over Alabama in Starkville, thanks to big games from sophomores Martha Alwal and Carnecia Williams, who combined for 43 points, 23 rebounds, nine blocks and five steals. Alabama leads the overall series with Mississippi State, 34-16; however the Bulldogs have won the three previous contests.

Alabama is looking for its first win in the SEC Tournament since the 2004-05 season when it advanced to the second round. The Tide and Bulldogs have met twice before in the tournament (1987, 1989) with Alabama winning on both occasions. The Tide holds an overall record in SEC Tournament games of 24-33 (.421) while Mississippi State stands at 14-33 (.298).

Alabama enters the tournament on a 10-game losing skid, with its last victory coming against Auburn on Jan. 24. Throughout that stretch, the Tide has struggled offensively, averaging 57.5 points per game. Prior to that, Alabama was collecting 70.5 points per contest. Sophomore Daisha Simmons continues to lead the Tide on offense, averaging 12.4 points per game. She has been Alabama’s leading scorer in five of the last seven games.

After starting the conference season 1-7 in the month of January, the Bulldogs finished out the regular season 4-4, which included a win over No. 11 Georgia. Mississippi State is led by Alwal, who averages just shy of a double-double with 12.3 points and 9.9 rebounds per game and also contributes 2.6 blocks per outing.