Alabama Knocks Off Lady Vols to Advance to SEC Tournament Quarterfinals: Roll Call

GREENVILLE, S.C. — For the second straight day, 11th-seeded Alabama played like a team on a mission, toppling sixth-seeded Tennessee 69-58 on Thursday night to punch its ticket to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.

“This is a great team win,” head coach Kristy Curry said in the post-game corridor of the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. “A lot of grit, a lot of toughness. Made plays when we needed to. Stayed consistent. I thought we played really good team basketball, and just really happy for our team to survive and advance and get to play another day.”

Junior guard Jessica Timmons spearheaded the upset with a game-high 23 points, repeatedly slicing through the Lady Vols’ half-court defense and knocking down timely jumpers. Senior floor general Karly Weathers stuffed the stat sheet with only four points but contributed four rebounds, seven assists and six steals in a tireless 37-minute performance.

Alabama never trailed after the opening bucket, avenging a January home loss to Tennessee in which the Tide felt they had beaten themselves.

“That was our first loss at home,” Timmons said. “I think we understood that we can hang with them for four quarters. All the mistakes being made, they were on ourselves—energy, hustle plays. Our coaches did a good job of showing us film on what we didn’t do right and what we can control. We came out, used the plans that the coaches gave us, and we executed that on the court today.”

The victory sets up a Friday-night showdown with third-seeded Texas at 7:30 p.m. ET, televised on the SEC Network. After two wins in 24 hours, the Crimson Tide believe momentum is squarely on their bench.

“We’re not ready to go home yet,” Timmons added with a grin.