Alabama women’s basketball will meet UC Berkeley in the second ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge on Thursday, Dec. 5, in Berkeley, California. It will be the first time the teams have met in 24 years.
After announcing its conference switch in September 2023, Cal will enter with the 2024-25 season as its first in the ACC.
The Crimson Tide holds a 1-0 advantage over the Golden Bears all-time. The two have met one other time in program history, a 76-63 Alabama win on Nov. 24, 2000.
In the inaugural challenge last season, the Crimson Tide fell to Syracuse 79-73.
Head coach Kristy Curry holds a 6-3 record against ACC opponents, including a win against Florida State in the first round of the NCAA tournament this past season.
The Golden Bears didn’t earn a tournament berth last season but instead played in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, where they were knocked out in the second round by Saint Joseph’s 63-61.
After the Crimson Tide lost guard Loyal McQueen and forward Meg Newman to Clemson and DePaul, respectively, the team has four returning starters from last season.
Guards Sarah Ashlee Barker and Aaliyah Nye led the team, the former averaging 16.8 points a game last season with a season- and career-high 34 against Kentucky. Nye, who holds the program record for most 3-pointers made in a single season with 108, will also likely be a leading contributor again this season.
Alabama also added notable transfers like University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff guard Zaay Green, who averaged 16.7 points per game, and forward Christabel Ezumah, who averaged 12.4 points per game and had 10 double-digit rebounding games last season with Campbell University.
Berkeley’s offense was led last season by guard Ioanna Krimili, who averaged 13 points a game and had a 40.8 field goal percentage, and forward Marta Suárez, who averaged 11.9 points per game and had a 40.2 field-goal percentage. Both will be returning for the 2024-25 season.
The ACC, the SEC, and ESPN have announced that all games in the challenge will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ACC Network or SEC Network. Streaming information and tip-off times will be announced at a later date.
