FLORENCE, Ala. (February 14, 2024) – The University of North Alabama women's basketball team will play its regular season home finale this week inside CB&S Bank Arena with two matchups against the EKU Colonels and Bellarmine Knights.
The Lions face EKU first on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 5:30 p.m. and will conclude the weekend with Senior Day and its annual "Pink Out Game" against Bellarmine on Saturday, Feb. 17.
Thursday will serve as TVBA Night where UNA will welcome youth league players from the Tennessee Valley Basketball Association. A number of other promotions will take place Thursday, including a special Black History Month presentation honoring some of UNA's greatest basketball players.
On Saturday, the program will honor seniors Alexis Callins, Ruth Balogun and Allie Craig Cruce. The program will also honor basketball manager Jordan Smith, a senior who creates a lot of the content for the team's social media.
UNA returns home with five games remaining this regular season — playing the final three on the road. North Alabama has won four of the last six games and begins a stretch against previous opponents from the first half of conference play in the race for ASUN tournament seeding.
Premium Seating at CB&S Bank Arena is sold out for the year, but general admission season tickets and single game tickets are still available. For ticket information, contact bbond@una.edu, call 256-765-5466 or visit online at this link.
Parking is available to the general public along the streets of Circular Road and Stewart Avenue, as well as the parking lot in front of Rice and Rivers Hall and the parking garage. Lots A, B and C at the Bill Jones Athletic Complex and below the arena are reserved parking spaces. There is also paid parking below the Science Building off Circular Road.
MATCHUP
GAME 1
North Alabama vs. EKU
Thursday, February 15, 2024
5 p.m.
Listen | Live Stats | Tickets | Watch | Game Notes
GAME 2
North Alabama vs. Bellarmine
Saturday, February 17, 2024
5:30 p.m.
Listen | Live Stats | Tickets | Watch | Game Notes
NOTES
SCOUTING THE LIONS: North Alabama will face the Colonels sporting a 10-14 overall record and a 6-5 record in ASUN play to sit in a two-way tie for sixth in the conference standings. UNA ranks third in the ASUN with 69.5 points per game. The Lions also rank among the top three ASUN teams in the following categories: three-point percentage (32.3 percent/first), team assists (14.6 per game/second), free throw percentage (72.2 percent/second), three pointers per game (8.1 per game/second) and bench points per game (21.2/third).
SCOUTING THE COLONELS: EKU sports an 18-7 record entering Saturday, posting a 10-1 record at home, a 7-5 record on the road and a 1-1 record in neutral site games. The Colonels are tied with Lipscomb for fourth in the ASUN standings at 7-4 — just one game ahead of UNA. EKU sports the second-highest scoring offense in the ASUN at 72 PPG while also leading in assists with 15.04 per game. The leading scorer is the graduate guard Antwainette Walker, who is second in the ASUN with 18.9 PPG. The head coach of the Colonels is Greg Todd in his third season.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS: Bellarmine carries an 8-15 record into the week, posting a 4-7 record at home and 4-8 record on the road. The Knights are 3-8 in the conference to sit ninth in the ASUN standings. The leading scorer is redshirt junior forward Hayley Harrison, who averages 15.4 PPG to check in at fourth in the ASUN. The head coach of the Knights is Chancellor Dugan in her 12th season.
SERIES HISTORY: North Alabama and EKU will meet for the fifth time in women's basketball, with the series split at two games apiece. UNA won the first two meetings in 2021 and 2022, while the Colonels have won the last two. This includes a 67-58 win for EKU on Jan. 20 last time out. The matchup against Bellarmine is the 12th meeting between the two teams with UNA leading 9-2 in the series. Last time out, sophomore guard Alyssa Clutter's go-ahead layup with under 10 seconds to go clinched a 91-90 overtime win against the Knights on Jan. 18.
1K MAGIC: Senior Alexis Callins became the first player to score 1,000 career points all in the Division I era against Kennesaw State. A four-year mainstay, she also became the 18th player in all of UNA Women's Basketball history to achieve this milestone. The all-time leader in scoring at UNA is Ivy Wallen, who scored 1,762 points over four seasons — two at the Division II level and two at the Division I level. Callins ranks 13th all-time at UNA with 1,063 points.
HOME SWEET HOME: Seven of UNA's wins this season have come inside CB&S Bank Arena. The Lions sport a 7-5 record in home games compared to a 3-9 mark on the road. North Alabama enters the meeting with the Colonels riding a three-game home winning streak in which UNA sports an average margin of victory of +12.7.
GAINING MOMENTUM: The Lions have won four of the last six games entering Thursday's matchup with EKU. North Alabama won four consecutive games over Kennesaw State, Queens, North Florida and Jacksonville while coming off road losses to Stetson and league leader FGCU.
NO PRESSURE: The Lions are currently second in the ASUN in free-throw percentage at 72.2 percent.
CALLINS CAN SCORE (A LOT): Callins' 14.6 PPG ranks sixth in the ASUN and is on pace for a new Division I-era record at UNA for individual season scoring average. Callins leads the ASUN with 2.92 three-pointers per game with 70 makes. Callins' three-point game is nationally ranked, with the senior 10th in total makes and 15th in makes per game.
CHARLTON KEEPS IT COOL: Charlton brings energy whenever she touches the court, but her calling card is remaining cool, calm and collected from the charity stripe. She checks in at 81.5 percent from the line, tied for third in the ASUN.
DROPPING DIMES: Senior guard Sara Wohlgemuth is in the ASUN lead and ranks 58th nationally with 4.7 assists per game. Her 113 assists are second in the ASUN, as well, with a 53rd national ranking. She is also second in the ASUN with a 1.59 assist/turnover ratio.
MILESTONE WIN: UNA head coach Missy Tiber won her 350th career game as a head coach in the win over North Florida on Feb. 1. She has won 165 games over 11 seasons at UNA and 351 games in 24 seasons overall.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
