The University of Alabama women’s basketball team will get some needed rest this week following tough SEC play, losing three games in a row to drop the team to 1-8 in the conference.

Alabama normally plays a Thursday game, but this week is a bye. The team will take Thursday off for some rest, and then prepare for an away matchup with LSU.

“Right now our confidence is a little bit shaken, and the only way to work on that is to continue to get into the gym everyday and focus on improving,” coach Kristy Curry said. “Confidence comes from doing things the right way.”

Freshmen have played a major role on the Alabama team this year. Meoshonti Knight and Hannah Cook are two of the top scorers on the team, and young as they are, a SEC schedule is very new to them.

“Several of our freshmen are [used to] normally starting the playoffs this next week,” Curry said. “We still have seven SEC games to go and a lot of our season. With the conference tournament, you are looking at an extra month that they are not normally used to. So any rest that you can have as they make that transition is important.”

She also said LSU will be a tough opponent. The Tigers began the season without preseason All-SEC Danielle Ballard, who was suspended by the program due to a violation of team rules.

LSU was missing Ballard’s presence with 7-7 start, but she returned Jan. 8 against Vanderbilt and made an impact. She is averaging 14.1 points per game and has lead the Tigers on a nice 5-2 run in the SEC. During that stretch, the Tigers are 2-2 against top 15 opponents.

“Definitely when you add an impact player to the mix it gives everyone around a little more confidence,” Curry said. “They are definitely a different team with her addition.”

Sunday’s game will have a 4 p.m. tipoff and will be aired on SEC Network.