UA Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team to Play Missouri Men’s Team Friday

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team will play the University of Missouri Men’s Team Friday, Feb. 2 at 5 p.m. at the UA Student Recreation Center.

The UA women are one of only 15 women’s wheelchair basketball teams in the country, so it is sometimes necessary to play men’s college teams in order to fill out their schedule.

Crimson Tide Head Coach Margaret Stran believes this game will be a good opportunity for the Alabama women. “This is not something that stand-up college basketball teams would not dream of doing, but it will be a nice challenge for us and I think this experience will make us stronger at our national tournament,” Stran said.

The 5th-ranked Crimson Tide women are currently 15-5 on the season. The team competes in the women’s division of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association and will play a total of 30 games this season before traveling to the Women’s National Championship Tournament in Warm Springs, Ga., on March 2.

The women’s game will be followed by the UA men who will take on the defending national champion University of Texas-Arlington at 7 p.m. Both games will be played at the recreation center on the UA campus.

Admission is free for students, faculty and staff, and $2 for others. Fans can purchase admission passes at the front desk of the recreation center starting one hour before the first game. One admission pass is good for both games.

For more information about UA Disability Sports or the UA Wheelchair Basketball Teams, please contact Dr. Brent Hardin at 205/348-5109 or 205/246-3372 or go to the Alabama Wheelchair Basketball Web site at www.uads.ua.edu.