On Wednesday, Alabama women’s basketball will travel to Jacksonville, Fl. to participate in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The Crimson Tide secured its position as the 12 seed in the tournament after finishing with a conference record of 4-12.

The team will face off against LSU in its first match up of the tournament.

“This group has to continue to grow and develop,” said Alabama head coach Kristy Curry. “It is another step forward. We understand the importance of this next week.”

The Crimson Tide has faced off against the Tigers once this season, capturing a 62-45 in Foster Auditorium. That game was Alabama’s largest margin of victory in its 16 conference games. Coach Curry believes the team can take away from that performance on Jan. 3.

“We can draw a lot of positives from our first experience,” she said. “We feel like we match up well with them. We are just excited about the opportunity to take another step forward.”

LSU is one of two teams to finish below Alabama in the SEC. During that matchup in early January, Alabama was able to take advantage of LSU’s turnovers to lead to easy baskets on the other end.

Curry talked about how important it is to not rely on turnovers, but to hit shots in the half court against LSU.

“We definitely have to do a great job of knocking down shots against the zone,” she said. “We have to come out and attack the zone.”

Alabama is not only trying to advance in the conference tournament, but the Crimson Tide is trying to establish a resume for other post season tournaments. The team is trying to put itself in the best position to be selected for tournaments like the WNIT.

“Our goal is to continue to improve every day and continue to make a statement for the post season,” she said. “It is a brand new season for us.”

The winner of the game between Alabama and LSU will move on to face Kentucky in the second round on Mar. 3. Alabama and LSU will tipoff at 10 am CT on SEC Network.