Women's hoops begins five-game road swing at N.C. A&T

Nov. 16, 2016

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Auburn women's basketball hits the road for the first time in 2016-17 Thursday when the Tigers travel to Greensboro, N.C., to face North Carolina A&T. Tip is set for 4:30 p.m. CT at the Corbett Sports Center.

The Tigers (1-0) are coming off a season-opening 61-52 victory over Troy in which Auburn's defense forced the Trojans into 38 turnovers. Junior Jessica Jones had a career-high five steals while Katie Frerking, Brandy Montgomery and Janiah McKay had three steals apiece. Montgomery led the Auburn offense with 22 points while Frerking had 12 and McKay added 10.

North Carolina A&T (1-1) dropped its season-opener at Georgia Southern, 65-50, but bounced back with a home win over UT Martin Monday night, 74-59. Dana Brown is the Aggies' leading scorer; she had 18 in the loss at Georgia Southern. The Aggies finished 19-13 last season and won the MEAC Tournament, earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. There, the Aggies faced top-seeded Notre Dame, falling 95-61 in South Bend.

This is the fifth all-time meeting between the teams; Auburn leads the series 4-0. In the last meeting in 2009, KeKe Carrier scored a then-career high 28 points and 13 rebounds as the Tigers earned a 76-63 win in Greensboro.

Thursday's game begins a five-game road swing for the Tigers that goes through Thanksgiving Day. Auburn plays at East Carolina on Sunday, then travels to Savannah, Ga., for the Savannah Invitational where they will face Ball State, Marist and West Virginia next week.

Andy Burcham will have the radio broadcast on WTGR 93.9 FM beginning at 4:15 p.m. CT. Fans can also listen live via TuneIn Radio (link above). The game is not televised.

Auburn Quick Hitters

- Thursday is the fifth all-time meeting between Auburn and North Carolina A&T
- Auburn is 4-0 all-time against the Aggies, including a 1-0 mark in Greensboro
- The last meeting came Dec. 1, 2009, in Greensboro, with Auburn winning 76-63
- With the win over Troy, the Tigers have won 26 straight home openers with the last loss coming in 1977
- Auburn is 38-8 all-time in season-openers and 26-3 when opening the season at home
- Auburn is in its 46th season of women's basketball and has 883 program wins
- Auburn is 16-2 all-time against current members of the MEAC
- Auburn returns four starters and eight letterwinners from its 2015-16 team
- The Tigers advanced to the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament after finishing 20-13 overall (8-8 SEC)
- This is the first meeting between Terri Williams-Flournoy and Tarrell Robinson
- Auburn is 23-7 all-time against opponents from the state of North Carolina
- Auburn is 6-5 all-time in games played in North Carolina
- This is Auburn's first game in the state of North Carolina since the 2012-13 season (tournament at NC State)
- The Tigers are 5-1 all-time on Nov. 17 with wins over Alabama (1975), Winston-Salem State (2006), UAB (2007), Temple (2008) and Grambling State (2014)
- Auburn is 126-35 all-time in the month of November; Coach Flo is 18-8 in November at Auburn
- Auburn forced 38 turnovers in the win over Troy (11/11), fifth all-time at Auburn and one shy of a school record vs. a Division I opponent
- Auburn's 22 steals vs. Troy were two shy of a school record
- Ekiya Gray, Tyra Johnson, Emari Jones and Tiffany Lewis played in their first Auburn game vs. Troy
- The Tigers face six non-conference opponents that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season
- Auburn is 30-2 in home non-conference games under Terri Williams-Flournoy

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn came within striking distance of a school record for turnovers, forcing 38 in a season-opening 61-52 victory over Troy at Auburn Arena Friday night.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers struggled to finish on the offensive end at times, shooting 31.9 percent from the floor, but the Auburn defense held the Trojans more than 28 points below their season average from a year ago, when they were the seventh-best scoring team in the nation.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Brandy Montgomery led the Tigers with 22 points, her 18th career game with 20 points or more. Katie Frerking missed a double-double by one rebound, scoring 12 points and pulling down nine boards, along with three assists, three blocks and three steals. Janiah McKay contributed a 10-point outing.

Noteworthy

AUBURN-N.C. A&T SERIES
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º This is the fifth meeting all-time between Auburn and North Carolina A&T. The Tigers have won all four previous meetings.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn won the only prior meeting in Greensboro, a 76-63 victory in 2009.

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA A&T
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º North Carolina A&T finished 19-12 overall in 2015-16 and won the MEAC Tournament to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies were a 16-seed and fell to top-seeded Notre Dame in the first round, 95-61.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º So far this season, the Aggies are 1-1 with a loss to Georgia Southern and a win over UT Martin. A&T has averaged 62.0 points in the two games, shooting 37.3% from the field.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Dana Brown has been A&T's leading scorer, averaging 16.0 points per game. She had a game-high 18 in the loss to Georgia Southern.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Graduate transfer Aliyah Kilpatrick played her undergraduate career at Winthrop and faced Auburn each of the last two seasons. In 2014 in Rock Hill, Kilpatrick scored a game-high 16 points off the bench to lead Winthrop to a victory. Last season in Auburn, she led the Eagles with 9 points in Auburn's 76-33 win.

LAST MEETING: AUBURN 76, N.C. A&T 63 (12/1/09)
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn senior KeKe Carrier posted career highs in points and rebounds, tallying 28 points and 13 rebounds for her second consecutive double-double, as the Tigers pulled out the 76-63 win at North Carolina A&T.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Carrier hit 11-of-16 from the field and was 6-of-11 from the free throw line. She also blocked three shots and dished out two assists on the night.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Carrier led a pack of four Tigers that scored in double figures as Alli Smalley and Nicolle Thomas added 11 each, followed by freshman Blanche Alverson with 10. Sophomore Parrisha Simmons scored nine points and finished second on the team with five rebounds.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn shot 52.6 percent from the field (30-of-57) and 42.9 percent from 3-point land (6-of-14). The Tigers also connected on 10-of-17 from the free throw line. Auburn blocked eight shots in the game, led by Carrier's three. Pascale West and Chantel Hilliard added two each.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 1-0 after a 61-52 win over Troy on opening night. The Tigers struggled offensively, but forced the Trojans into 38 turnovers, converting those into 25 points.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn returns four starters and eight letterwinners from its 2015-16 team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers finished 20-13 overall, 8-8 in SEC play.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior Brandy Montgomery returns as the Tigers' leading scorer the last two years. Montgomery averaged 14.0 points per game as a junior and was named to the preseason All-SEC Second Team by the league's coaches. She scored 22 in the opener.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior Katie Frerking was the SEC's leader in steals as a junior, averaging 2.5 steals per game. She also averaged 11.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, and was the team's leader in assists with 3.1 per game.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Sophomore point guard Janiah McKay and junior forward Jazmine Jones are the Tigers' other two returning starters. McKay played in all 33 games last year, starting 19, and averaged 9.2 points and 2.3 assists per game. She scored a career-high 24 points to lead Auburn to an NCAA first-round win over St. John's. Jones started all 33 games as a sophomore and had one of the best shooting percentages on the team, shooting 51.5% from the floor.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Pressure defense remains a staple of Coach Flo's strategy as the Tigers forced an average of 20.0 turnovers per game in her first four seasons.

Looking Ahead

Auburn continues its five-game road swing Sunday, Nov. 20, at East Carolina. Tip is set for 2:30 p.m. CT at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, N.C.