Sunday, December 17
Tuscaloosa, AL
2 p.m.
SMU
at
Alabama
SMU Returns To Action Sunday At Alabama
Dec 15 | Women's Basketball
| SMU (4-5) at Alabama (6-3) | |
| Date & Tip Time | Sun., Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. |
| Location | Coleman Coliseum – Tuscaloosa, Ala. |
| Live Video | SEC Network+ |
| Radio | KAAM 770 AM – Dallas |
| Live Stats | Sidearm Stats |
| Game Info | Game Notes (.pdf) |
| SMU Basketball on Social Media | |
| /SMUMustangs | /SMUBasketballW | |
| @SMUMustangs | @SMUBasketballW | |
| SMU.Mustangs | SMUBasketballW | |
SMU plays its first game since Dec. 3 when the Mustangs play at Alabama Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network+, and fans in the Dallas area can listen to the broadcast on KAAM 770 AM. After the road game, SMU returns to Moody Coliseum for home games against Loyola Marymount on Dec. 20 and McNeese on Dec. 22. SMU is offering free admission to both games as a holiday gift.
ABOUT SMU
The Mustangs are 4-5 this season, winning three of their last five games. The last time SMU took the floor, it defeated CSU Bakersfield, 41-29, holding an opponent to less than 30 points for the first time since the inaugural season in 1976-77. SMU is third in the American Athletic Conference and 53rd in the NCAA in scoring defense, holding opponents to 57.9 points per game.
McKenzie Adams leads the team with 19.9 points per game, ranking 40th nationally and fourth in the conference. She became the 24th player in program history to score 1,000 points at SMU, reaching the milestone at North Texas. Kiara Perry also averages double figures, scoring 10.1 points. Freshman Ariana Whitfield is second on the team with 12 made 3-pointers, shooting 40.0 percent outside the arc.
Defensively, SMU is second in The American with 4.6 blocks per game, posting 41 through nine games, and the Mustangs are fifth in the league in steals, taking 76 to average 8.4 per contest. Klara Bradshaw is tied for the league-lead, averaging 2.0 blocks per game with 18 on the season.
The SMU roster features six seniors, including four returning starters, and has seven returning letterwinners, including all six seniors.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Alabama is 6-3, winning its last two to end a three-game losing skid. Hannah Cook leads the team with 13.1 points per game, and is one of three players averaging double figures. Ashley Williams is scoring 11.0 points with a team-high 7.1 rebounds, and Meoshonti Knight averages 10.1 per game. Alabama scores 70.1 per game, shooting 40.9 percent, while holding opponents to 56.0 points on 35.0 percent from the floor. The Crimson Tide lost at TCU, 88-67, the only common opponent between the two teams.
SERIES HISTORY
Alabama won the only previous meeting, an 85-69 victory in Cancun, Mexico, on Dec. 21, 2001.
UP NEXT
SMU takes on a Loyola Marymount team that is 7-2, including a 3-0 record in road contests this season. The Lions host UC Santa Barbara Monday before Wednesday's game at SMU. Cheyanne Wallace leads the team with 17.8 points per game, and Gabby Green scores 16.1 per contest. The Lions average 75.1 points with a 41.8 shooting percentage, while opponents score 66.7 points and shoot 37.1 percent.
SERIES HISTORY
SMU earned a 78-58 win at home on Nov. 13, 2009, in the only previous meeting between the two teams.
McKENZIE ADAMS
McKenzie Adams ranks 40th in the NCAA and fourth in the American Athletic Conference with 19.9 points per game. She reached double figures in seven of nine games, including two of the top-five scoring performances in program history. Her career-high 38 points in the season opener ranks third in a game at SMU, and she is tied with three other players with 35 points at Nevada. Adams is the first player at SMU with multiple 30-point games in a season since Keena Mays in 2013-14. She shot a season-high 60.0 percent at Nevada (12-20). Adams has became the 24th player in program history to score 1,000 points with 1,009 at SMU and 1,266 points overall, including 257 at Arkansas.
SMU SINGLE-GAME SCORING
1. Jeannia Nix vs. Texas (2/28/89) 43
2. Shawna Ford vs. TCU (1/25/97) 42
3. McKenzie Adams vs. Nicholls (11/10/17) 38
4. Shasta Smothers-Johnson vs. TCU (1/18/85) 36
T-5. McKenzie Adams at Nevada (11/26/17) 35
T-5. Three other players 35
KIARA PERRY
Kiara Perry is second on the team with 10.1 points per game, reaching double figures in five of the last eight games, including a career-high 23 points against TCU. She has 24 steals, averaging 2.67 per game. She is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 6.6. Perry is shooting 40.7 percent from the field, eclipsing 50 percent in four of the last seven games.
ARIANNA WHITFIELD
Freshman Ariana Whitfield is third on the team in scoring with 8.4 points per game. She has scored at least 10 four times, including a career-high 18 points against Abilene Christian. Whitfield is shooting 38.9 percent from the field (28-of-72), and ranks sixth in The American, shooting 40.0 percent from 3-point range (12-of-30). Whitfield made four of five 3-point attempts at then-No. 21 Oklahoma.
STEPHANIE COLLINS
Stephanie Collins is fourth on the all-time blocks list at SMU with 138 career blocks after knocking away 36 shots as a junior. She set the SMU single-season record with 73 as a sophomore. The post player averaged 4.9 points and 3.5 rebounds last season. She scored a season-high 10 points at Temple, and increased her scoring average to 6.5 in conference games. Playing in eight games this season, Collins is 20-of-36 shooting with 44 points, scoring 10 at UT Arlington.
DAI'JA THOMAS
As a sophomore, Dai'ja Thomas was second on the team with 40 blocks, and the Dallas native averaged 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds. She scored a career-high 18 points at Temple, and reached double figures seven times. Thomas had two double-doubles, and blocked four shots against TCU, matching her career high. She grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds in the opener against Nicholls this season and is averaging a team-high 7.8 rebounds with 4.7 points. Thomas scored a season-high nine points against UC Riverside.
KLARA BRADSHAW
Working with her fourth coach in as many seasons, Klara Bradshaw played in 33 games last year after sitting out the previous season due to NCAA transfer rules. The tallest player on the roster at 6-6, Bradshaw recorded 33 blocks, and averaged 2.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 11.1 minutes per game. She scored a season-high 10 points against Seattle and had a season-high nine rebounds against Texas State. The redshirt senior had a career-high five blocks against TCU this season, and has 18 blocks. Bradshaw is tied for the conference lead with 2.0 blocks per game. She is also averaging 3.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 15.7 minutes.
MIKAYLA REESE
Mikayla Reese had 35 assists and 16 steals while averaging 2.5 points in 13.9 minutes per game as the backup point guard last season. She scored a career-high 11 points against Texas State and finished with a career-high four assists against Houston. Reese posted a career-high six assists in the opener against Nicholls this season, and followed it with six more against TCU. She is averaging 4.0 per game, passing out at least five assists in five of the first six games. Reese is scoring 4.6 points per game, including a season-high nine against UC Riverside.
ALICIA FROLING
As a junior, Alicia Froling was the only player in The American to average a double-double, scoring a team-high 14.3 points per game with a league-best 10.0 rebounds. With 486 points, she climbed to 14th on the all-time scoring list at SMU with 1,213 career points. Froling is sixth all-time in rebounds with 884 after grabbing 339 to reset her own program record. She also has 147 career blocks, second all-time at SMU. She posted a program-record 17 double-doubles, and scored a season-high 28 points in the win against Louisiana Tech.
SMU SINGLE SEASON DOUBLE-DOUBLES
1. Alicia Froling (2016-17) 17
2. Shasta Smothers-Johnson (1984-85) 15
3. Alicia Froling (2015-16) 14
SMU CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES
T-1. Shasta Smothers-Johnson (1983-87) 38
T-1. Janielle Dodds (2005-08) 38
3. Alicia Froling (2015-Present) 36
INDIVIDUAL SEASON REBOUNDS LIST
1. Alicia Froling (2016-17) 339
2. Alicia Froling (2015-16) 328
3. Shasta Smothers-Johnson (1984-85) 310
SMU CAREER REBOUNDS
1. Janielle Dodds (2004-08) 974
2. Karlin Kennedy (1996-2000) 946
3. Shasta Smothers-Johnson (1983-87) 933
4. Teri Baldwin (1977-80) 890
5. Christine Elliott (2008-12) 886
6. Alicia Froling (2015-Present) 884
POSTSEASON IN FIRST SEASON
In his first season as head coach, Travis Mays guided the Mustangs to a 19-13 record, including a pair of WNIT wins. SMU advanced to the round of 16 in the tournament with wins at home against Louisiana Tech and Abilene Christian. It was the first time since 1993 that an SMU team won twice in a postseason tournament.
DEFEND YOUR HOUSE
SMU went 13-3 in Moody Coliseum last season, just two wins shy of the program-record 15 home wins during the 2012-13 season. The win total included a victory over then-No. 19 Texas A&M, while the three losses came against then-No. 1 Connecticut, then-No. 23 USF and a Tulane team that was receiving votes at the time of the matchup. This season, the Mustangs are 3-1 in Moody Coliseum.
INCREASED ATTENDANCE
SMU had the seventh largest increase in attendance, averaging an additional 1,028 fans per game in Moody Coliseum than the previous year.
SENIOR CLASS
The SMU roster features six seniors this season, including four returning starters. Alicia Froling started all 34 games, leading the team in points (14.3) and rebounds (10.0). McKenzie Adams started 34 games, averaging 12.2 points with a 36.6 shooting percentage. Kiara Perry started every game after missing the previous season due to a back injury, and Stephanie Collins started 19 games. Klara Bradshaw saw action in 33 games, and Mikayla Reese played in 30 games last season.
BROKEN RECORD
For the third straight season, SMU set a program record in blocked shots, recording 187 as a team. Alicia Froling led the way with 51 blocks, climbing to second all-time at SMU with 147 career blocks. Stephanie Collins finished with 36 blocks as a junior and ranks fourth all-time with 138 career blocks. She is also the SMU single-season record holder with 73 blocks in 2015-16. Dai'ja Thomas was second on the team last year with 40 blocks, and Klara Bradshaw posted 33. SMU also set the single-season rebounds record with 1,409 boards last season. It was the second straight season in which the rebounds record was broken. The Mustangs finished with 1,331 rebounds in 2015-16, which was the most since the 1981-82 season.
This season, SMU is second in The American with 4.6 blocks per game with 41 total blocks.
SMU SINGLE-SEASON BLOCKS
1. 187 2016-17
2. 184 2015-16
3. 160 2014-15
4. 142 2005-06
5. 129 2002-03
SMU SINGLE-SEASON REBOUNDS
1. 1,409 2016-17
2. 1,331 2015-16
3. 1,327 1981-82
4. 1,315 1995-96
SMU CAREER BLOCKS
1. Sarah Davis (2003-06) 180
2. Alicia Froling (2015-Present) 145
3. Karlin Kennedy (1996-00) 139
4. Stephanie Collins (2015-Present) 138
T-5. Katie Remke (1997-01) 109
T-5. Janielle Dodds (2004-08) 109
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Alicia Froling represented Australia at the 2015 FIBA U19 Women's World Championships in Russia, winning a Bronze medal with the team, her second career medal at the World Championships with Australia. A native of Queensland, Australia, Froling averaged 8.1 points per game, reaching double-figures twice, including a tournament-high 19 points during group play. Stephanie Collins also represented Australia at the 2012 World University Games.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
Center
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Forward
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Forward
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Guard
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Guard
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Forward
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Guard
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