It was just minutes after No. 20 Alabama pulled off an 88-85 upset victory over No. 7-ranked LSU. Tigers head coach Kim Mulkey was sitting in the press room at Coleman Coliseum, searching for answers while looking at the stat sheet.
She made sure to point out performances by the stars of the Crimson Tide, such as guards Sarah Ashlee Barker and Aaliyah Nye, who combined for 49 points in the game.
But then Mulkey came across the stat line of one of the Crimson Tide’s “role players” and seemed surprised by her impact on the game: guard Karly Weathers.
“If you look at Weathers, she had only 3 points but was able to snag nine rebounds,” Mulkey said. “She did what she needed to do to win tonight.”
That type of production may have come as a surprise to the LSU head coach; however, anyone who is associated with the Crimson Tide program or has watched Weathers play throughout her three seasons knows that was no first occurrence.
Alabama head coach Kristy Curry has known it for the past three years, too. She called Weathers’ performance against the Tigers “unbelievable” and has consistently credited the guard throughout the season for understanding her role and doing the “little things,” such as playing hard on defense and rebounding.
“It just goes to show that you don’t have to be the tallest or the fastest; it’s just doing your job,” Curry said. “Every single day with her it shows up, and every single play of hers shows up. She is our glue.”
Weathers’ competitiveness and winning nature make sense looking at her family tree. She grew up around a family of athletes, as her brother, Ryan, is a current MLB pitcher for the Miami Marlins; her father, David, was a former 18-year MLB pitcher; and her mother, Kelli, was a collegiate basketball player at Belmont.
“Competitive is definitely the best way to describe our family growing up. My parents especially pushed us to be the best versions of ourselves,” Weathers said. “That’s really just a great lesson I carried with me, which is just to make sure to be the hardest worker in the room.”
Weathers followed suit along with the rest of her family and became an accomplished athlete. At Loretto High School in Tennessee, she twice won the Miss Tennessee Basketball award, given to the best player in the state, and scored over 2,000 points during her four seasons.
Due to Weathers’ accomplished prep career, she had plenty of college suitors. But Alabama was the only one she had grown up a hardcore fan of.
She committed to Alabama and has spent the past three years of her life in Tuscaloosa. Looking back on her decision, Weathers said she couldn’t have been happier with her choice.
“I consider this to be the best college in America. I’ve met such incredible people,” Weathers said. “I obviously grew up a big Alabama fan, so the opportunity to wear Alabama across my chest every single night has just been amazing.”
It hasn’t only been the basketball part of her life that she has enjoyed in Tuscaloosa, however. She is majoring in nursing, and she began spending time this year working with the nursing program at Alabama and at Druid City Hospital.
Weathers, who describes herself as someone who loves being around and helping people, was wrestling with the choice of either being in the education field as a teacher, or entering the nursing field. Ultimately, she found the choice for her.
“It has just been phenomenal from the first day I stepped into the hospital,” Weathers said. “I knew that was the path for me.”
Even with the challenges of being a college athlete and a nursing student, which Weathers compares to working two full-time jobs, she continues to be grateful for her opportunity.
“What a blessing it is that I get to live out my dream by playing college basketball, and then set myself up for the next 50 years of my life,” she said.
This season has been the most productive of Weathers’ college career. She has started every game for the Crimson Tide and is averaging 7.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, and she brings a strong defensive presence with 1.8 steals per game.
The faith the coaching staff has in her is so strong that more often than not she is tasked with guarding the opponent’s best player. She held Arkansas leading scorer Izzy Higginbottom to a season-low 5 points on 2/11 shooting and also held LSU leading scorer Flau’Jae Johnson to a season-low effort with 6 points on 2/12 shooting.
“I take great pride in it. I was always told growing up that you can control two things, which is your attitude and your effort,” Weathers said. “I take pride in every single possession for my girls, for my coaches, and for the University, because I want them to be able to count on me.”
In a starting five with leading scorers such as Nye, Barker and guard Zaay Green, Weathers hasn’t gathered as much national attention. But her ability to make an impact beyond scoring has turned her into one of the most crucial players on this team.
There’s no doubt no matter how well she plays, she’s doing everything possible to win.
“I’m gonna give 110% effort for every single thing that I do on the floor,” she said.
