It would be hard for Alabama women’s basketball coach Kristy Curry to find any signs of panic in her Crimson Tide team after two games against conference opponents.
While late November and early December was a nightmare for the Crimson Tide, sandwiching a disappointing loss to Elon between blowout defeats to N.C. State and TCU, Alabama doesn’t look like the same team from a month ago.
Alabama at Arkansas
When: 3 p.m. CT
Where: Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas
Records: Alabama 11-4 (1-1), Arkansas 10-5 (1-1)
TV: SEC Network
Radio: 93.3 FM
Since those three consecutive losses, Alabama has dismissed four lower-level opponents, battled No. 15 Missouri to the very end, and picked up its first road win at Florida since 2010. Those are the senior-led results Curry expected at the beginning of the season, but the verification of those outcomes will come in the Crimson Tide’s second conference road game at Arkansas.
In many ways, the Razorbacks are similar to where Alabama stood a season ago. Arkansas is loaded with junior players, and has just one senior on the roster. Through two conference games, the Razorbacks have picked up a home win over Ole Miss and were blown out by a top-10 team on the road, identical to how Alabama began conference play in 2017. Sunday should show how big of a difference a year can make.
Leading the Crimson Tide through two conference games are guards Hannah Cook and Shaquera Wade, who average 11 and 10 points, respectively. They will be challenged with the tough task of guarding Arkansas perimeter players Devin Cosper and Malica Monk, who both average just over 16 points per game.
