South Carolina Visits Alabama in Key SEC Women’s Basketball Clash TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (Interstat) — The top-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks, riding a nine-game winning streak, face a tough road test against the Alabama Crimson Tide in a Southeastern Conference women’s basketball matchup Thursday night at Coleman Coliseum. South Carolina (25-2, 13-1 SEC) has dominated conference play since a Jan. 22 overtime loss at Oklahoma, winning those nine games by an average margin of 29.2 points. The Gamecocks are coming off a 79-72 road victory at then-LSU on Saturday, led by 21 points from Tessa Johnson and 19 points and six assists from Raven Johnson. Raven Johnson, the Gamecocks’ dynamic guard, has been a consistent force, averaging 11.3 points and 5.9 assists over her last seven contests. Her playmaking will be central against Alabama’s defense. The Crimson Tide (20-6, 8-5) seeks to rebound from a 79-71 home loss to Oklahoma, which snapped a two-game win streak. Alabama has struggled against ranked opponents recently, with losses in three of its last four such games, including a 103-63 defeat at LSU on Feb. 1. Alabama will lean on guard Ta’Mia Scott, who is averaging 12.4 points over her last five outings. She scored 17 points with four assists and two blocks in the loss to Oklahoma. In the teams’ first meeting this season on Jan. 1 in Columbia, South Carolina secured an 83-57 victory. The Gamecocks have won 15 straight in the series. A win for South Carolina would solidify its hold on the SEC regular-season title race, while Alabama aims for a signature victory to bolster its NCAA tournament seeding. The game tips off at 7 p.m. EST and will be televised on SEC Network.