WOMENS BASKETBALL: Tide, Tigers struggling

TUSCALOOSA | The University of Alabama women's basketball team travels to face the Auburn Tigers at 1:30 p.m. today. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

Today's game marks the 77th time meeting between the Crimson Tide and Tigers. Alabama broke the Tigers' two-game winning streak in the series Jan. 24, beating Auburn, 61-51.

Alabama enters the contest with a 12-12 overall record and 2-9 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Crimson Tide has not won a league game since its win over Auburn, going 0-5 since then, including a 91-80 triple-overtime loss to Arkansas last Sunday. Sophomore Daisha Simmons led all scorers with 21 points in the loss and added nine rebounds, five assists and two steals against the Razorbacks.

For the season, Alabama has three players averaging double-figure points, led by Simmons' 12.8-point contribution. She is followed by juniors Shafontaye Myers (11.8 ppg) and Jasmine Robinson (10.3 ppg). Redshirt sophomore Kaneisha Horn leads a trio of Crimson Tide players averaging more than five rebounds per game with her 5.4 average. Following Horn are seniors Meghan Perkins (5.3 rpg) and Alicia Mitcham (5.2 rpg).

Auburn has a record of 13-11 overall and 2-9 in conference action. The Tigers have dropped eight straight SEC games. During that eight game stretch, Auburn has averaged 55.9 points per game, eclipsing the 60-point mark once. The average margin of loss in the Tigers' last five games, including the loss at Alabama, has been only 6.6 points.

Sophomore Hasina Muhammad leads Auburn in scoring with an average of 15.8 points per game, while senior Blanche Alverson pulls down a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game. Senior Najat Ouardad, who was injured during the Tigers' last game,leads the team in assists (6.4 per game) and steals (2.7 per game).