SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

March 5, 2026

Kristy Curry

Jessica Timmons

Ta'Mia Scott

Bon Secours Wellness Arena

Alabama Crimson Tide

Postgame Press Conference

Alabama 76, Tennessee 64

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by Alabama Head Coach Kristy Curry and student-athletes Ta'Mia Scott and Jessica Timmons. We'll have an opening statement from Coach.

KRISTY CURRY: This is a great team win. A lot of grit, a lot of toughness. Made plays when we needed to. Stayed consistent. I thought we played really good team basketball, and just really happy for our team to survive and advance and get to play another day.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for student-athletes.

Q. For both athletes, for Jessica and Ta'Mia. Tennessee beat you all earlier in the season. How much did you learn from that and apply it to this game?

JESSICA TIMMONS: That was our first loss at home. I think we understood that we can hang with them for four quarters. All the mistakes being made, they were on ourselves, energy, hustle plays.

Our coaches did a good job of showing us film on what we didn't do right and what we can control. We came out, used the plans that the coaches gave us, and we executed that on the court today.

TA'MIA SCOTT: Just like Jess said, we watched a lot of film on that game. We just learned from our mistakes. I think that during that game we learned exactly what we could do to beat them if we saw them again, and that's what we did today.

Q. For both players, obviously getting some wins here could help improve your NCAA tournament standing. How big of a motivator was that for you guys to kind of put some more wins on your résumé?

JESSICA TIMMONS: It was a huge win for us. We're trying to make history. We're trying to get all the way to the SEC championship. We know the SEC is a gauntlet. Each day it's a fight. That kind of shows when we're playing our regular season games.

Just having -- just being able to play that first game, I think that meant a lot, us getting comfortable, our feet underneath us. We're going to go into our next game the same way. We're going to come in there competitive and just understand that any game is winnable in the SEC.

TA'MIA SCOTT: Everybody in our locker room believes that we can beat anybody in the SEC. So if we come out on the floor and play like that, it will happen.

I think we have a lot of confidence in ourselves, and as long as we keep playing like that, we can do what we want to do.

Q. For Jessica, it was two years ago that you got injured at this tournament. For you to be able to come back, have the season you had, be on this run now, what does that mean to you?

JESSICA TIMMONS: It means a lot. It just shows what the program really means to me and a lot of the students here. Coach Kristy told me that I'm able to redshirt. Not a lot of coaches give you the opportunity. She was very patient with me. She didn't have me rush into rehab. Alisha, Kevin, strength trainer, nutritionist, they put a lot of not only confidence in me, but they made sure we was going through everything the right way.

Without the coaching staff, without the people, everyone in the program, I wouldn't be here today. It's just a lot of gratitude towards them and University of Alabama.

Q. For both players, defensively it really feels like you overpowered Tennessee a lot tonight. What do you think was a key factor that played into that?

TA'MIA SCOTT: I think that the emphasis on defense tonight was a really big deal, and then Karly, she made a big emphasis before the game as well that it's going to fuel us.

We started on the defensive end, and I think that even not hitting shots, the defensive end just kept us up through it all.

Q. For Ta'Mia, Tennessee's press just was basically ineffective tonight. I think you guys got behind it so often. Just what were y'all able to do there to exploit that?

TA'MIA SCOTT: That was something we mentioned before the game. You know, we really wanted to expose them during the press, so just moving the ball and making sure that we had our head on a swivel and just if somebody got in trouble, we helped them. Just moved around a lot and found the open man.

THE MODERATOR: Ladies, thank you. We'll take questions for Coach.

Q. Just to see Jessica's journey kind of come full circumstance from that injury, how cool has it been to see her have this season and be able to lead this team on this run?

KRISTY CURRY: Well, it's really special just because we know the work that she's put in and just the perseverance. It's been amazing to watch.

Last January, I mean, she was the best player on the floor at times, and you know the team that we had a year ago. I mean, she gave us such a great look from a scout perspective, but just staying patient and positive.

She has put so much work in, and I'm just really happy for her. Can't wait to see what the future holds. She should be in the WNBA draft and have an opportunity.

Q. I loved what Jessica said about any game in the SEC is winnable. Is that something that comes from the culture of Alabama basketball?

KRISTY CURRY: You know, you have to keep your journey in this league in perspective. We played three, four, five, and ten, four out of our last five games, and we were close. We learned a lot.

I think you have to be a continuous learner. I think that regardless of the fact that maybe we dropped a couple of those, we never lost our confidence, and we kept it in perspective that we can turn that into a positive at some moment.

And I think this weekend our team really feels like we've learned a lot along the way. They've stayed together through adversity. It's a blessing. You know, I think playing in this league prepares you for this time of year, it prepares you for March. It's a blessing in disguise, and we've really tried to turn it into that.

Q. Your team forced 18 turnovers tonight. Was that an emphasis in practice this week, or was that something that just happened?

KRISTY CURRY: Yeah, I think we tried to be heavy in the gaps. We played blocks and elbows. We did a really nice job of showing multiple jerseys. I thought our players really did a nice job of being active in the zone, doing a nice job when we were in man. Just a great team defensive effort.

I do think that our presence in the paint -- I think we all forget that Essence Cody didn't play at home. That's a big deal, and we felt like I think her and Naomi, together you look at what they did. I mean, 17 and 8 is pretty good numbers, so I thought we had a lot of presence behind us if we got beat. I thought they did a nice job with the rim protection, and we were able to help the helper and get our rotations down.

It's a great team defensive effort.

Q. I was going to ask how key is it to have Naomi Jones back healthy, and also Naomi Jones, Ace Austin available against Texas when you didn't have them available this past Sunday?

KRISTY CURRY: It certainly makes you feel better because we're back in our regular rotation and routine. When we're healthy, it makes a big difference. We never make that as an excuse, but we didn't have Essence for some key games early that we dropped. Not that that was the only reason we dropped them. I thought it gave us an opportunity to have Joy and Naomi really grow.

I don't know if y'all saw it, but the ankle sprain at Vanderbilt, not many players would be doing what Naomi did tonight, and it's just a tremendous testament to how much she loves her team and wants to play and the character. It was pretty bad. So just a tribute to her and just playing through some pain tonight.

Q. Did you feel like at any point throughout the SEC schedule that maybe your team lost the perspective, and how did you help get that back for them, because you really can spiral in this league taking losses that are understandable to take?

KRISTY CURRY: I think that's when your leadership steps up. I think that message is from your staff, and the best teams are player-led teams. It starts in your locker room. Karly and Jess never wavered. They've been here, done that before.

You know, we just believe in a lot of grit. I mean, the harder it gets at Alabama, the harder we go. We understand it's not always physical, but can be mental. Thought just great leadership in our locker room. We've got a tremendously special player-led locker room.