NASHVILLE (March 7, 2025) – The University of North Alabama women's basketball team opens its 2025 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament run on Saturday, facing the No. 3 Lipscomb Bisons in Nashville at Allen Arena.
The postseason has arrived for the Lions, who makes the trip to Nashville for its seventh ASUN Championship appearance in as many seasons. UNA and Lipscomb will play for a trip to next week's semifinals on the line.
The contest will be streamed on ESPN+ with tipoff set for 2 p.m. The game will also air on WLX Radio with the "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray on commentary. Fans can listen on 98.3 or 103.5 FM in the Shoals or worldwide on the WLX App or website. The "Countdown to Tipoff" radio show begins at 1:40 p.m.
GAME INFO
Event: 2025 ASUN Tournament Quarterfinals
Date: Saturday, March 8
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Venue: Allen Arena
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM ("Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Click here
Social Media: @UNAwbb
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: North Alabama picked up a key win in the final regular-season game against Central Arkansas, taking a 66-56 home triumph over the Sugar Bears. Senior Charity Gallegos shined with 30 points against UCA, while junior India Howard's fifth double-double of the season led UNA in securing the sixth seed in the 2025 ASUN Tournament. It also marked the first victory over Central Arkansas since Feb. 21, 2023.
REAL RECOGNIZE REAL: Two Lions earned postseason honors in Charity Gallegos and India Howard. Howard was named to the 2025 Academic All-ASUN Team – her first conference accolade of her career – while Gallegos nabbed a Third Team All-ASUN selection. Gallegos' stellar season was rewarded with the all-conference honor, and Howard shined in both the classroom and court en route to her accolade.
TWO MORE FOR CHARITY: Gallegos was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week by the league office on March 3. Gallegos was a standout in North Alabama's post season tune-up matchups at Queens and versus Central Arkansas, averaging 21 points per game and helped UNA clinch the No. 6 seed in the tournament. It also marked the second time winning both honors simultaneously, winning her first two honors on Dec. 30, 2024.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: North Alabama takes on the postseason in UNA Head Coach Candi Whitaker's first season at the helm. UNA enters with an 13-16 record, also going 8-10 in ASUN bouts. The regular season saw the Lions lead in multiple categories over their opponents, holding advantages in field-goal percentage (42.1 percent to 41.4 percent), three-point percentage (34 percent to 31.2 percent), free-throw percentage (74 percent to 69 percent) and total assists (383-333). UNA also excelled in second-quarter scoring, outscoring opponents 506-474 during the period.
SCOUTING LIPSCOMB: The No. 3 seeded Lipscomb Bisons enter the postseason 19-10 on the year and 12-6 in ASUN play. The Bisons had a 6-7 record on the road but excelled in home games with a 13-3 record. Heading into the postseason, Lipscomb won four of its last five contests and six of its last 10. The team looks to start their postseason on a high note, looking to improve from their 83-76 defeat to EKU last time out. The Bisons are led on the floor by All-ASUN First Team selection, Bella Vinson, along with All-ASUN Second-Team selection, Claira McGowan. The head coach for Lipscomb is Lauren Sumski.
SERIES HISTORY: North Alabama and Lipscomb are set to face off for the 30th time in the all-time series. The Bisons took both contests in the regular season, with the last outing seeing Lipscomb edge North Alabama, 61-58. The Lions and the Bisons previously met in the 2023 ASUN Tournament first round, resulting in Lipscomb taking a 63-53 victory.
POSTSEASON PRESENCE: UNA Women's Basketball embarks on their seventh-straight ASUN Championship tournament, appearing in every tournament since North Alabama's move to Division I in 2019. UNA is 1-6 in the tournament, with their first and only win coming on May 7, 2020, in the Lions' 70-60 win over Stetson from CB&S Bank Arena.
LOOKING BACK: The Lions postseason history goes back to the Division II days, dating all the way back to 1979. When UNA was a part of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW), the Lions were state champions in 1979-80, followed with a Northern Division championship in 1981-82. As part of the Gulf South Conference (GSC), North Alabama were crowned regular-season and tournament champions in 1983-84 with two East Division crowns in 1999-2000 and 2010-11. The team made it to the South Regionals in the NCAA Tournament four times, finishing as runners-up twice (1983-84 and 1984-85) with one South Regional championship (1993-94). The '93-'94 team also made program history by making it all the way to the NCAA Final Four, finishing in third in the nation.
BOUND FOR REBOUNDS: The Lions are third in the Atlantic Sun Conference in total rebounds, averaging 38.5 per game. North Alabama is additionally third in both defensive rebounds (27.1 per game) and rebounding margin (+3.3). India Howard (7.3 per game), Jazzy Klinge (6.3) and Alyssa Clutter (5.3) all rank in the top 25 in ASUN rebounding.
LEADERBOARD LIONS: North Alabama is among the top ASUN teams in three-point field-goal percentage and blocked shots. UNA ranks third in three-point percentage (34 percent) while also third in blocked shots, averaging 3.14 per game.
THE BLOCK LIST: Two Lions rank among the top shot blockers in India Howard and Jazzy Klinge. Howard (1.5 per game) is third in the league, with Klinge (0.6) tied for 13th.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: North Alabama has had two players finish with double-doubles on the season in Howard and Clutter. Howard has five on the season, most recently registering a 16-point, 11-rebound performance against Central Arkansas on March 1. Clutter has two on the season with a 14-point, 11-rebound outing at Arkansas-Pine Bluff and 17 points and 17 rebounds at Bellarmine.
CHARITY'S CASE: Charity Gallegos leads North Alabama in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game to rank seventh in the ASUN. Gallegos has also been the primary playmaker for the Lions, averaging the fourth-most assists in the ASUN with 3.9 per game. She was named the ASUN Conference's Player and Newcomer of the Week twice on Dec. 30, 2024, and March 3, 2025. Gallegos earned her 1,500th career point in the Lions' home win versus Queens on Jan. 30.
HOWARD HOLDS IT DOWN: Junior India Howard has had a knack for blocking shots, enforcing her defensive presence with 43 blocks in 28 games. She's currently third in the ASUN in the category with 1.5 blocks per game. Howard is also inside the top 10 in rebounds in the conference, ranking eighth with 7.3 per game. The junior tied a career high in blocks against FGCU, registering six against the Eagles.
SUPER CAM: Cameron Jones is having a career year in her third season, with the Broadview Heights, Ohio native averaging a career-high 7.2 points per game and 3.7 rebounds per game. Jones has set multiple single-game career highs on the season, including a 17-point performance against Denver and nine rebounds against both Nebraska and Bellarmine.
KATIE IS THE KEY: Another Lion making big strides in her second season is sophomore Katie Criswell. There has been no sophomore slump for Criswell, who finished the regular season as UNA's second-leading scorer with 8.3 points per game. She's had multiple career highs set this season, including a career-high 21 points against Lipscomb on Jan. 25. Criswell set or tied career highs this season in single-game points (21), rebounds (7), assists (5) and steals (3).
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
