NASHVILLE, Tenn. (February 21, 2024) – With three regular season games remaining, University of North Alabama Women's Basketball hits the road for two games this week versus the Lipscomb Bisons and Austin Peay Governors.
The Lions make the Tennessee road trip to face the Bisons in Nashville on Thursday, Feb. 22 at 6 p.m., while Saturday's matchup comes against Austin Peay in Clarksville on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 2 p.m.
North Alabama celebrated Senior Day in its last outing, defeating the Bellarmine Knights 88-66 in the final regular season game from the CB&S Bank Arena. UNA had its most efficient shooting performance of the season, going 56.9 percent from the field en route to the Lions clinching a spot in the Atlantic Sun Conference Women's Basketball Championship.
With their spot in the tournament cemented, UNA looks to end the final three games of the regular season with momentum heading into postseason play. UNA is sixth in the ASUN standings and sits one game out of fourth place. The top four seeds will host an ASUN Quarterfinal game.
Tickets are available for purchase through Lipscomb Athletics' ticket office and Ticketmaster for the game against Austin Peay. Live stats will be provided courtesy of StatBroadcast for both contests, and the games will be available for streaming on ESPN+. Radio will also be provided for Austin Peay by "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray on WLX 98.3 and 103.5 FM.
MATCHUP
GAME 1
North Alabama at Lipscomb
Thursday, February 22, 2024
6 p.m.
Game Notes | Live Stats | Tickets | Watch
GAME 2
North Alabama at Austin Peay
Saturday, February 24, 2024
2 p.m.
Listen | Live Stats | Tickets | Watch
NOTES
SCOUTING THE LIONS: North Alabama embarks on the Tennessee road trip with a clinched postseason berth and three games to go in the regular season. Sitting at 11-15 overall with a 7-6 record in the ASUN, the Lions are currently sixth in the conference standings. UNA ranks third in the ASUN with 69.7 points per game and rank among the top three ASUN teams in the following categories: three-point percentage (32.6 percent/first), team assists (14.62 per game/second), free throw percentage (71.7 percent/second) and three pointers per game (8.2 per game/second).
SCOUTING THE BISONS: Lipscomb are 14-11 on the season with a 7-5 ASUN record, sporting a 6-5 record at home and an 8-6 record on the road. They are fifth in the conference standings — a half-game ahead of UNA — and one of six teams to have clinched a spot in the ASUN Championships. Defensively, the Bisons are in the top three in rebounding per game (39.7/first), opponent field goal percentage (38.4 percent/third), opponent three-point percentage (29.6 percent/third) and blocks per game (3.4/third). The leading scorer for the Bisons is junior guard Claira McGowan with 12.8 points per game, good for ninth in the ASUN.
SCOUTING THE GOVERNORS: Austin Peay has a 13-13 record and are 6-6 in the ASUN Conference standings. Austin Peay will host UNA with a 7-7 record when playing at home Clarksville. The Govs are another defensive leader in the conference, leading the ASUN in blocked shots per game with four. Graduate center Shamarre Hale is leading the team with 12.6 PPG to round out the top 10 scorers in the conference.
SERIES HISTORY: North Alabama and Lipscomb will be meeting for the 27th time with the Bisons leading the series, 18-8. Last time out, Lipscomb defeated the Lions in CB&S Bank Arena back in January, 85-67, but North Alabama's last win in the series came on the road in Nashville last season. Against Austin Peay, the Lions are an even 3-3 against the Governors, earning their first win over the Govs since the 1983-84 season with a 79-75 victory earlier this season.
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 11th all-time at UNA with 1,095 points.
PACK THE BANK: Eight of UNA's wins this season have come inside CB&S Bank Arena. The Lions played their regular season home finale and defeated Bellarmine on Feb. 17. UNA has won by an average margin of victory of 17 points at home.
GAINING MOMENTUM: The Lions have won five of the last eight games entering Thursday's matchup with Lipscomb. North Alabama has wins over Kennesaw State, Queens, North Florida, Jacksonville and Bellarmine in their previous eight contests.
NO PRESSURE: The Lions are currently second in the ASUN in free-throw percentage at 71.7 percent.
CALLINS CAN SCORE (A LOT): Callins' 14.7 PPG ranks sixth in the ASUN and is on pace for a new Division I-era record at UNA for individual season scoring average. She leads the ASUN with 2.96 three-pointers per game with 77 makes. Callins' three-point game is nationally ranked, with the senior 8th in total makes and 12th in makes per game. She also hit her 200th career three-pointer on her first shot attempt against Bellarmine on Feb. 17.
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 83.1 percent from the line, third in the ASUN.
DROPPING DIMES: Senior guard Sara Wohlgemuth is in the ASUN lead and ranks 68th nationally with 4.6 assists per game. Her 119 assists are second in the ASUN, as well, with a 57th national ranking. She is also second in the ASUN with a 1.63 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 166 games over 11 seasons at UNA and 352 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.
