STILLWATER, Okla. – The top-ranked Alabama women's golf team turned in one of only two under par rounds in the 24-team field on Sunday to move out to an eight-shot lead after three rounds at the NCAA Women's Golf Championships in Stillwater, Okla.

The Crimson Tide is now 2-under par for the tournament after shooting a 4-under 284 during its third round performance and boasts a 54-hole total of 862 (292-286-284). Alabama is poised to advance to the match play portion of the national championships for the first time since the since the NCAA adopted the current format in 2015.

"A course like this, it really separates the good ball strikers," Alabama head coach Mic Potter said. "The ones who can drive it in play, the ones that control their ball in the wind and have good putting touch. There are All-Americans, Curtis Cup players, Palmer Cup players on this team. That's kind of what you expect from great players. Just let them go and let them play."

Junior Cheyenne Knight (70-69-70/209) ended the day tied with Wake Forest's Jennifer Kupcho for the lead in the individual standings at -7 after a 2-under par round. The Aledo, Texas, native's three-round score equals her school NCAA tournament record for a 54-hole total, set at the 2016 NCAA Championships at the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.

Knight is seeking to join former UA All-American Emma Talley as the school's second NCAA individual champion. Talley won medalist honors at the 2015 NCAA Championships at Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.

"It would be amazing to join Emma as a national champion," Knight said. "She has always been my role model, both on and off the course. To put my name next to hers would be such an honor."

Tide junior Lauren Stephenson (74-69-70/213) and sophomore Kristen Gillman (73-72-70/213) matched Knight's performance Sunday with both carding rounds of 2-under for the day. Stephenson is now tied for fifth place at -3 overall, four shots off the lead. Gillman is tied for seventh at -1 on the par 72, 6,328-yard Karsten Creek layout. Freshman Angelica Moresco (75-76-78/229) is tied for 75th at +13 and senior Lakareber Abe (76-81-74/231) is at +15 and tied for 91st place.

"We've played well this year and have a lot of confidence in what we're doing," Potter said. "They're probably going to tell you that they have a chip on their shoulder and all that but they're really good at going out here and playing golf and trusting in their ability."

Today's performance by Alabama included a 6-under par back nine from its four scoring golfers. That continues a streak of strong play on holes 10-18 as the Tide's top four each day have combined to shoot -16 on the back nine over the first three rounds.

"I don't know if the holes are easier (on the back nine) and I'm not sure they are," Potter added. "It was an opposite wind today so it's not like you're catching all downwind holes on the back. I just feel if we can minimize the damage on the front, they play well on the back for whatever reason, I'm not sure what it is."

At 2-under par, the Crimson Tide (292-286-284/862) has an eight-shot lead over second place UCLA (294-279-297/870), which is at +6. The Bruins entered the day with a seven-shot lead over the Tide after a course record 9-under par round Saturday but ballooned to +9 Sunday as Alabama took control of the team race. Ninth-ranked Arizona (301-291-288/880) is in third place at +16, followed by Northwestern (299-293-290/882) in third at +18 and first round leader USC (291-298-296/885) in fifth at 21-over par.

In addition to determining the 2018 NCAA women's individual champion, Monday's final round of stroke play will qualify the top eight teams in the standings for Tuesday's match play quarterfinals.



Alabama will open Monday's final round starting at 12:50 p.m. CT and will be paired with UCLA and Arizona. Following the conclusion of the fourth round, the NCAA will present the medalist award to the individual champion and hold the draw to set the line-ups for the match play quarterfinals.

Coverage of Monday's round will air live on the Golf Channel beginning at 3 p.m. CT.

NCAA Women's Golf Championships

Karsten Creek Golf Club

Stillwater, Okla.

Host: Oklahoma State University

Alabama Individual Results

T-1. Cheyenne Knight - 70-69-70/209 (-7)

T-5. Lauren Stephenson - 74-69-70/213 (-3)

T-7. Kristen Gillman - 73-72-70/215 (-1)

T-75. Angelica Moresco - 75-76-78/229 (+13)

T-91. Lakareber Abe - 76-81-74/231 (+15)

Team Standings

Field will be cut to eight teams for match play following Monday's fourth round

1. ALABAMA-292-286-284/862 (-2)

2. UCLA- 294-279-297/870 (+6)

3. Arizona- 301-291-288/860 (+16)

4. Northwestern- 299-293-290/882 (+18)

5. USC- 291-298-296/885 (+21)

6. Duke- 298-298-293/889 (+25)

7. Stanford- 308-291-291/890 (+26)

8. Kent State- 296-299-296/891 (+27)

9. Florida State- 301-294-299/894 (+30)

10. Baylor- 313-295-287/895 (+31)

11. Arkansas- 308-300-289/897 (+33)

12. Furman- 312-293-294/899 (+35)

13. Texas- 309-300-291/900 (+36)

14. Washington- 303-300-299/902 (+38)

15. Louisville- 301-300-302/903 (+39)

Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaWGolf, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.