The Crimson White Print Edition - March 28, 2024

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4A sports New club desires to increase attendance at women’s sports Manisha Ramachandran Staff Writer For the founder of the club, freshman history student Audrey Diczhazy, Hot Shots is personal. “My mother was an athlete in any women’s sports her high school offered in the ’80s, and she told me the difference in funding and support between men’s and women’s sports,” Diczhazy said. “So, when I saw that there is a significant gap in physical student support at UA, it struck a chord with me, and I wanted to help close it even if it meant just adding a few more people in the stands.” Hot Shots is the Blount Scholars Program’s newest club. Hot Shots was founded to support women in sports and help to grow attendance at women’s sporting events. Hot Shots hopes to help close the gap of attendance between men's and women’s sporting events. Through the advocacy that they are starting in the Blount program, a liberal arts community for undergraduates, the members hope the Crimson Tide’s women’s teams will see more warm bodies in their crowds. While joining the club is just for Blount students, it may become official through The Source, said freshman accounting student Jackson Bowen. “If there is some appeal to a wider campus audience, it will definitely be considered,” Bowen said. Although the club currently has only nine members, its members have high hopes. Diczhazy talked about future meeting goals and what being part of the club will look like. “My plans for meeting will be as frequent as everybody’s schedules allow. I don’t expect everyone to make every meeting or game,” Diczhazy said. “Being a member entails showing up as much as you can and trying to apply yourself in any way possible. ... I just want people to enjoy themselves when they are at our meetings. If they can’t make it, they can help out by spreading the word!” By promoting attendance for women’s sporting events and advocating for women athletes, Hot Shots helps build school spirit and foster new connections and Alabama pitcher Jaala Torrence (#21) throws a pitch against UNA on Feb. 21 at Rhoads Stadium. CW / Ethan Met friendships, which are two values the Blount Scholars Program prioritizes when it encourages its students to create its own programs. “I don't think it's really a stretch to say that UA’s school spirit is heavily, if not entirely, fueled by sports,” Diczhazy said. “Sports have helped me build connections with people unlike any other events on this campus. Student-athletes at UA dedicate themselves completely to their craft, and I would like to be there to support any and all of them.” Along with fostering new connections and friendships, Hot Shots plans to do more, according to freshman psychology student Sammie Dees. “This club is all about enriching the environment of the student population, something I think is very important,” Dees said. Hot Shots has big goals for itself, and it isn’t focused on just one aspect of attending women’s sports. Along with attending sporting events, the club wants to help the student body become more connected and support every athlete at the school no matter how small the sport is. “We believe that the dedication and hard work of these athletes deserves to be celebrated as much as any other group,” Dees said. For Hot Shots, this means celebrating Olympic athletes, national stars, conference standouts and everyone in between, not just counting football’s national championships. Women’s basketball falls to No. 1 seed Texas at NCAA tournament Alabama guard Del’Janae “Burger” Williams (#51) on defense against Texas at Moody Center in Austin, Texas, during the second round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament on Sunday, March 24, 2024. Courtesy of UA Athletics Courtney Larrimore Staff Writer Women's basketball will head home to Tuscaloosa after falling 65-54 to the region's No. 1 seed, the Texas Longhorns, in the second round of the NCAA tournament. With Texas standing as the region's No. 1 seed, it had the opportunity to host its first few tournament games, and because of that, nearly 10,000 Longhorn fans came to the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, to support their team. Despite most of the crowd cheering against her, guard Sarah Ashlee Barker still enjoyed the spirit of her audience. "You want to play in atmospheres that are packed and rowdy, and everyone is cheering, and I like to play against crowds that are cheering against me sometimes." Barker said. "It was a lot of fun. You had a lot of respect for the game of women's basketball out there. ... It just shows you that people love women's basketball." Barker only played 11 minutes and scored 6 points in the team's game Friday against Florida State but broke out this game, leading the team with 17 points and six rebounds. Alabama started hopeful, keeping the score within a few points, but at some moments, the Crimson Tide needed only 2 to overcome Texas's lead. Despite a 7-point scoring run by Texas, Alabama was able to round out the first quarter with a gap of only 3 points after a layup from Barker and guard Aaliyah Nye's only 3-pointer of the night. "I wish I would have hit the shots that I felt like I did get a quality shot," Nye said. "I just didn't knock them down with a couple of other shots that I took. I think it just happens sometimes." Out of the nine 3-point shots Nye took during the game, she sank only two. Alabama's team average fell to 27.8%, and although it left the Crimson Tide in a better position than Texas’ 20%, it was still a drop from Alabama's 35.21% average. The second quarter mirrored the first, with Alabama bringing the deficit to only 1 point, but Texas quickly ran away with a 7-point lead to end the first half. Texas had an answer for every point Alabama made; the game plateaued at a 10-point lead for Texas and stayed there for the rest of the game, deviating by only a few points but quickly balancing out, until the Longhorns won by 11. Forward Essence Cody and Nye found themselves in foul trouble this game, and Alabama's 17 personal fouls left Texas going 16- 21 on free throws while the Crimson Tide could get only seven of its own. Aside from the players on the court, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant came to support his alma mater. Although Durant was rooting for Texas, Barker couldn't help but appreciate the attention and care he brought to the sport. "I think just him supporting women's basketball means a lot even though he was supporting Texas, just him being here," Barker said. "That just means a lot to us, just knowing that one of the best players ever was watching us play against Texas tonight. I think you need to be grateful for that and grateful for the opportunity that he was in the building tonight." Although the loss was bitter, head coach Kristy Curry decided not to focus on that and instead celebrate a well-played season. "In our program, we have three core values, grit, love and gratitude, and the grittiness of this group, the love that they wear on the front of their chest in a day and time where that's unique,” Curry said. “We're not going to talk about what we didn't do well enough. Today, we're going to talk about all the things that we did well on a 10-month journey with the most special group I've ever had a season with, so I'm incredibly proud of them."
sports 5A Women’s basketball draws record engagement Courtney Larrimore Staff Writer Over the past few seasons, women’s basketball has seen an unprecedented amount of attention from both sports enthusiasts and regular people alike. From the rise of both talented and personable players coupled with the era of name, image and likeness deals in college athletics, women’s basketball is on a fast track. In the past few years, women's basketball has seen a massive surge in popularity, with 2023's NCAA tournament title game between LSU and Iowa seeing a 104% increase in viewership compared with past years. It was the most viewed women's basketball game ever and ESPN+'s most watched sporting event ever, men's or women's, with 12.6 million viewers. Beyond one game, women's basketball continues to impress in 2024. The Iowa vs. Nebraska Big Ten championship hit a peak of 4.45 million viewers, becoming the most streamed women's basketball conference tournament game on any network and the most watched women's basketball game on CBS in 25 years. For some players, the change results from the game finally getting the respect it's owed. "I think that back in the old days, if you showed your emotions too much, you're dramatic, or you're emotional and you wouldn't get the same respect as if a male did it," Alabama guard Sarah Ashlee Barker said. "Now, we're getting that respect. We're showing that we're tough. Showing we're gritty. Showing that we can compete on the court and be just as tough, as rowdy, and then off the court, we can be this girly girl. We can do all these things. And I think that's what's made this sport so, so fun to watch the past couple of years." Iowa has seen a massive uptick in viewership mainly because of one player, senior guard Caitlin Clark. Clark The crowd at the women’s basketball game against LSU on Jan. 18 in Coleman Coliseum. CW / Elijah McWhorter recently took down the NCAA Division I all-time men’s and women’s scoring records with 3,668 points. Even Shaquille O’Neal pointed out her talent on the "Inside the NBA" broadcast. "I'm going to go on the record and say she's the best female collegiate player ever," O’Neal said. Support from NBA players like O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, who, before his death in 2020, advocated for the importance of women's sports, isn't lost on women's basketball players. "Before Kobe died, he really did a huge thing for the WNBA and just tried to support women as much as he could," Barker said."I think that when he died, a lot of male figures kind of stepped into that and wanted to support him. So, I think even having male advocates for us plays a big role." Iowa has not been the only one leading the charge. Other schools, like LSU and South Carolina, have also been seeing traction and selling out stadiums. South Carolina has consistently been one of the best teams in women's basketball for years. The Gamecocks further cemented their national notoriety this year after they earned both the SEC tournament and regular-season titles. It is the only women's team in the country to do this since 2016. The team averaged a crowd of 15,613 per game, leading the nation in women's basketball attendance. Tickets ranged from $70 to $400, but on secondary markets, some paid up to six times the face value of the ticket. LSU was also known for breaking stadium records wherever the team went, even garnering the 5,575 fans it took to make it a recordbreaking night for Alabama's program when the Tigers came to town. The Tigers have taken a unique approach to furthering the game. Instead of relying solely on the team's talent, they've also leveraged the team's vivid personalities. LSU scoring duo Flau'jae Johnson and Angel Reese have amassed a cultlike following. Last year, they both individually had more followers than any other player in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, man or woman. The duo boasts a combined nearly 10 million followers and 31 NIL deals. Despite the attention she's personally gained, Johnson finds more satisfaction in the attention brought to the sport. "I kind of just have to remind myself, like, the little girls are here, the little boys are here, and they're looking up to you," Johnson said after LSU's game against Alabama. "So, it's cool to have recordbreaking crowds. We know people want to come see us, but the deeper impact that we have for the game and the way it's growing is amazing to see." Some players attribute the significant growth of women's basketball to the key role social media has played in building the game's presence and audience. "People from across the country can watch people play and follow each other. You make friends within basketball from across the country," Alabama guard Aaliyah Nye said. "I think social media is just growing every day. I mean, let's just think about it. Like, when we were younger, there was no way we could track our role models unless we lived in a college city. I lived in East Lansing [Michigan], and that's the only way I could really follow who I admired." Many brands have noticed the increasing popularity, and NIL deals have followed. With an NIL valuation of $3.1 million, Clark is currently ranked fourth in the country for the highest NIL deal valuation. Clark is an anomaly, though, and despite the monetary success some other players have found, it still pales in comparison to the money many men's players find themselves with. Nye thinks this lack of money draws people to women's basketball. "I think people are noticing we're more genuine,” Nye said. “Some male athletes do it for money. In women's sports, we only do it because we love it, we want to inspire little girls, and we just want to play for our program because, honestly, we're not doing it for money at all because we don't get paid like male athletes do for this sport." College women’s basketball year in review: 2. Nov. 28, 2023: USC guard JuJu Watkins broke the program record for most 30-point games as a freshman with four. Watkins scored 30 or more points in 12 regularseason games. 1. Apr. 2, 2023: The 2023 national championship game between LSU and Iowa drew 12.6 million viewers, the most viewers for a women’s basketball game ever. CW / Natalie Marburger 4. Mar. 3, 2024: Iowa guard Caitlin Clark broke the record for most points scored for an NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball player. 5. Mar. 10, 2024: The third game this season between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Nebraska Cornhuskers drew the most viewers for a women’s conference tournament game. 3. Jan. 18, 2024: Alabama women’s basketball set an attendance record against LSU with 5,575 fans in attendance.
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The Crimson White Print Edition - March 28, 2024

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