Despite Kristy Curry's team having its best start in school history at 14-0, we all knew it was about what Alabama would look like against some of the best teams in the country once SEC play started. The Tide got blown out against South Carolina on New Year's Day, showing that even though a much better team, maybe they still are a step behind the top of the SEC.
Since then, though, Alabama has responded well, blowing out Arkansas last Sunday and then beating the number six team in America convincingly behind Jessica Timmons' 24 points. The win over Kentucky is the highest-ranked win for Alabama since 1997. The dominant victory over the Wildcats shows that, even though it's not there yet, this team is on the right path to becoming one of the elite programs in the SEC
Last season, you could feel a difference with the Alabama Women's team from beating LSU and coming within seconds of reaching the Sweet 16. This year's team has continued that momentum, starting 16-1 and again showing that teams can no longer overlook the Crimson Tide on the court. The season is young, but this team is well on its way to making the NCAA Tournament and looking to make even more noise than they did a year ago. A win over a Top 10 team even before mid-January shows this team may be something serious.
Now the Crimson Tide heads on the road in their next two games against the bottom of the conference. They'll face Missouri on Sunday afternoon and arch-rival Auburn on Thursday. Winning on the road in the SEC is always challenging, but a must for this Alabama team if they want to continue to show that they are nearing that top level of SEC teams. Hopefully, Essence Cody's is able to return during this road stretch as the Tide looks to get to 18-1 before a huge game at home against Tennessee on January 18th.