Alabama possibly without best player for South Carolina matchup
South Carolina women’s basketball knocked off No. 5 Texas on Sunday, but life in the SEC means that another ranked contest is always right around the corner. Up next, the Gamecocks will play the No. 19 Alabama Crimson Tide on the road on Thursday night. Dawn Staley’s 16-1 USC squad will go for its 52nd regular season SEC victory in a row against Kristy Curry’s 16-2 unit.
Unfortunately for the ‘Tide, they might be without a key piece for the contest.
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According to Wednesday evening’s SEC-mandated availability report, Alabama’s best player, guard Sarah Ashlee Barker, could miss the game. Barker has not played since injuring her leg during Alabama’s first SEC contest against Florida. Her official designation for Thursday’s game (as of Wednesday night) is “questionable.” She also was questionable ahead of the Crimson Tide’s most recent outing against Ole Miss. Barker is averaging 15.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.1 steals while shooting 49.7% from the floor. Alabama is 2-1 without Barker but lost to Texas by 44 points.
The Gamecocks have no surprises on their side of the availability report. Forward Ashlyn Watkins, who tore her ACL earlier this month, remains out. Both post player Sakima Walker and guard Maddy McDaniel remain off the report after having dealt with an ankle injury and concussion, respectively. Thursday will mark Walker’s third game back and McDaniel’s second, though, neither player saw action against Texas on Sunday.
An updated report will come out about 90 minutes before tip-off on Thursday. Watkins’ status won’t change before the game, but Barker’s will. Alabama then must remove her from the report, designate her as “out,” or shift her status to “game-time decision.”
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During the offseason, the SEC approved a new policy that mandates availability reports for conference games. The reports will be required for football, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball. For football, teams submit reports on Wednesday and then update them each day until a final report 90 minutes before game time. For basketball and baseball, reports will be submitted the evening before a game and then updated on game day.
The availability reports will use designations such as “available,” “probable,” “questionable,” “doubtful,” and “out” to describe how likely it is that a particular player will suit up for the next conference game. On game day, those designations will shift to “out” or “game-time decision.” The reports model professional sports leagues’ injury reports.
South Carolina and Alabama will begin their conference tilt at 7:00 p.m. Though the game will not be on traditional television, SEC Network+ will stream the action inside Tuscaloosa’s Coleman Coliseum.
