The Alabama women’s basketball season is off to a successful start, with a 98-point showing to open things against Alabama A&M University on Monday evening. The Crimson Tide (1-0) will now embark on a road trip that begins in Louisiana with a familiar face — the Tulane University Green Wave. 

The Green Wave (1-0) defeated Grambling State University 72-46 in its season opener. Alabama played against Tulane twice in 2021-22, splitting the games. Alabama did win the more important of the two, a Women’s National Invitation Tournament showdown to keep the season going. 

The highlights of Alabama’s opener were Brittany Davis scoring seven 3-pointers and freshman Karly Weathers recording 15 points in her collegiate debut. Davis emphasized that it’s a new season. 

“What we did last year doesn’t matter anymore,” Davis said. 

The Crimson Tide will need to play with the same fast-paced mentality that it did in the opening game in order to stay in the win column. Alabama gave Alabama A&M a hard time getting set because of the quickness with which it played. That enabled Alabama to both lead by double digits at the end of the first quarter and hold the Bulldogs to single-digit points.  

Head coach Kristy Curry said before the season that defending and rebounding are important, and her team did them well in game one. 

“It’s a tough place to play,” Curry said of Tulane. “I just have a lot of respect for their program.”  

The Crimson Tide looked like a well-oiled machine in the very first game. Confidence is an important attribute and a game like the team had on Monday is capable of giving great confidence. Entering a road game confident goes a long way where chances to win are concerned.  

Consistency will be another key to Thursday’s game. Can Alabama shoot as well as it did on Monday, at more than 50% from the field? Thirty-one shots fell for the Crimson Tide.  

Davis and Weathers gave credit to their teammates for sharing the basketball. Everyone who played in Monday’s contest scored, and every single healthy player participated in the game.  

Depth is something players and coaches on this team are excited about. With many new faces, team chemistry is already strong.  

“[Chemistry] is really going to be important,” Curry said. “We continue to do everything that we can to put them in a position to grow off the floor.” 

She had great things to say for her group of returning players in addition to the newcomers.  

“When you have a core leadership group that’s back, it really makes a big difference. It’s a credit to Meg, Hannah, Jada, Brittany and JaMya and their selflessness. Those kids, when you ask them, they just want to win,” she said. 

Another opportunity to get a win comes on Thursday night in Louisiana. Though it is early in the campaign, it’s also an opportunity for Alabama to take another team’s zero and hand it its first loss. 

Tipoff is slated for Thursday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m. CT. 

Questions or comments? Email Austin Hannon (Sports Editor) at [email protected]