For the third time in Kristy Curry’s 11-year tenure, Alabama women’s basketball is a part of March Madness.

The Crimson Tide was awarded an at-large bid on Sunday night and will be a No. 8 seed. UA will travel to Austin, Texas, and play nine-seeded Florida State in the Moody Center.

The Longhorns are hosting No. 16 Drexel on the other side of the bracket. Should the Crimson Tide advance, it’ll move to the Portland Regional.

Alabama finished the season 23-9 overall and 10-6 in the Southeastern Conference. It started SEC play 2-4, but then rattled off four in a row and road another three-game winning streak into the conference tournament. The Tide lost its first SEC tournament game to Tennessee, giving it a nearly week layoff between games.

UA was led by seniors Aaliyah Nye and Sarah Ashlee Barker. They averaged 17.2 points and 14.0 points per game, respectively. Conference coaches named Baker, a Spain Park alum, to the first-team All-SEC team; Nye was a second-team selection.

First-year forward Essence Cody, a former five-star prospect and McDonald’s All-American was an All-SEC freshman honoree. She scored 7.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game with 63 total blocks.

Curry last led UA to the NCAA Tournament in 2023, when it lost in the first round. The Tide’s 23 regular-season wins were Alabama’s most in 20 years. Alabama hasn’t advanced past the first weekend since 1998 under Rick Moody.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].