It’s been 20 years since the Alabama women’s basketball team has made the NCAA Tournament. During that span, the Crimson Tide has made the Women’s National Invitational Tournament seven times, including back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in 2017 and 2018.

There’s no better time than now for the Crimson Tide to right the wrongs of two decades of missing The Big Dance. The biggest reason why: experience. 

Alabama returns 10 players from last season, including four starters, and nine of those played at least 25 games last season. The lone exception, redshirt senior guard Amber Richardson, played in 18 games two seasons ago after transferring from North Carolina State but took a redshirt year last year. 

“I wanted to gain a full year back so I did some schooling,” Richardson said. “Now I’m working on my master’s program. I took the time to just get back to the basics and improve my shot, just getting back to my fundamentals.”

Along with the return of Richardson, fellow senior guard Cierra Johnson returns for her final season in Tuscaloosa. The Shelton State Community College standout and 2018 junior college player of the year led the Crimson Tide in points (14.7), assists (3.1) and steals (1.3) per game last season and posted three double-doubles. 

Also in the Alabama backcourt, sophomore guard Megan Abrams returns after starting 18 games last season, and redshirt junior guard Jordan Lewis is back after redshirting due to a broken wrist.

Having both Abrams and Lewis healthy gives Alabama coach Kristy Curry increased options when it comes to lineup changes throughout the season.

“It’s exciting on the perimeter because of so much depth we have, and we’re all healthy now,” Curry said. “Guards can do a lot for you.”

Alabama got its first look at its new, healthy and eligible backcourt during a tour of Vancouver, British Columbia, this summer. Curry said the team’s 10 practices were “important” to growing the cohesion of the team, and the Crimson Tide won all three of its games in Canada. 

The standout of the tour was guard Brittany Davis, a transfer from Gulf Coast State College. Davis was the leading scorer in the junior college national championship with 16 points and for Gulf Coast State in the 2018-19 season with 16.4 points per game.

Junior forward Jasmine Walker was also a pleasant surprise in Canada, leading the Crimson Tide in scoring in two of the three games. Walker, who started in 29 of 31 games last season, leads a group of forwards for Alabama that, according to Curry, help the team “score from anywhere on the court.”

“We’re looking to push the pace more this season, and I feel like we’re more mature,” Walker said. “We have all the tools, just need to use them.”

During the preseason, Alabama has installed a theme of the week, including a thought for the day posted on the top of a whiteboard before each practice. The theme of this week is “feisty and fiery play,” and the quote at the top of the board before Tuesday’s practice read, “Nothing great was achieved without enthusiasm,” from Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“We’re wanting to enhance the energy in practice,” Curry said. “We’re even giving out a Fireball Award after practice every day to who was the most energetic throughout practice.”

In 1999, the same year as Alabama’s last time reaching the NCAA Tournament, Curry began her college head coaching career at Purdue. In her second season, she led the Boilermakers to the national championship game, falling to Notre Dame. Curry won 179 games at Purdue and 130 games at Texas Tech from 2006 to 2013 and will soon surpass 100 wins at Alabama, needing just two more.

Going into their season-opening exhibition against Auburn-Montgomery on Sunday at 2 p.m., the NCAA Tournament is Curry and the Crimson Tide’s main goal, and confidence is high that this will be the year.

“They’re so gritty and hardworking,” Curry said. “It’s one of the grittiest bunches I’ve been around in a long time. I feel like that, combined with our depth, talent, and if we can stay healthy, we can achieve that this year.”