Women's hoops set for Savannah Invitational

Nov. 21, 2016

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The Auburn women's basketball team wraps up its five-game road trip this week, playing three games at the Savannah Invitational, which runs Tuesday-Thursday at the Savannah Civic Center.

Auburn (3-0) will face Ball State (2-0) at 3:30 p.m CT Tuesday, Marist (0-4) at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday, and No. 19 West Virginia (3-0) at 6 p.m. CT Thursday.

The Tigers arrived in Savannah Monday afternoon after traveling from Greenville, N.C., where they faced East Carolina on Sunday. By Thursday evening, Auburn will have played four games in five days, including a showdown with a top-20 foe in West Virginia on Thanksgiving night.

The Tigers enter the week one spot out of the AP Top 25, earning 55 votes in this week's ranking. Gonzaga sits 25th with 62 votes. West Virginia is 19th in the latest AP Poll and was 25th in last week's USA Today Coaches' Poll; the new poll comes out Tuesday. Ball State and Marist are unranked.

Auburn's defense has carried the team to an unbeaten start as the Tigers are nationally ranked in three major defensive categories: second in steals per game (18.7), third in turnovers forced per game (31.7) and 10th in scoring defense (46.7 ppg). Auburn leads the SEC in the first two categories and ranks second in scoring defense.

Senior Katie Frerking has been a major part of that defensive surge so far. She leads the Tigers in rebounds (9.3/game), assists (3.7), steals (4.3) and blocks (1.7) and is second on the team in scoring with 12.3 points per game. She picked up her third career double-double and Auburn's first of the season in the win over East Carolina, scoring 10 points and pulling down a career-high 13 rebounds, along with three assists, three steals and a block.

Senior Brandy Montgomery is the Tigers' scoring leader with 16.7 points per game, and sophomore Janiah McKay is averaging 11.0 points per game after a 17-point burst to lead the Tigers at ECU.

Auburn and Ball State have met twice all-time with the Tigers winning both meetings. The last came on Nov. 29, 2013, when Auburn earned a 67-51 win in Las Vegas. Auburn is 2-1 all-time against Marist, and the Tigers will be meeting West Virginia for the first time.

Andy Burcham will have the radio call for all three games on WTGZ 93.9 FM. Fans can also listen live on AuburnTigers.com. There is no TV or streaming video for this week's games.

Auburn Quick Hitters

- As of Nov. 20, Auburn ranks second in the nation in steals (18.7/game), 3rd in turnovers forced (31.7/game) and 10th in scoring defense (46.7 ppg)
- The Savannah Invitational wraps up a five-game road trip for Auburn
- Auburn is 2-0 all-time against Ball State; all meetings have been at neutral sites
- Auburn's last meeting with Ball State was Nov. 29, 2013, the same day as the "Kick Six" Auburn football victory over Alabama
- Auburn is 2-1 all-time against Marist, 1-1 at neutral sites
- Thursday marks the first meeting between Auburn and West Virginia
- Thursday's game will be Auburn's second all-time game on Thanksgiving Day
- Auburn's only previous Thanksgiving Day game was Nov. 23, 2006, against Xavier in St. Thomas, USVI
- Auburn coach Terri Williams-Flournoy is 1-0 vs. Ball State, 1-0 vs. Marist and 4-6 vs. West Virginia
- Auburn is 3-0 for the second time in three seasons
- Auburn is 6-4 all-time against opponents from Indiana, 22-2 against New York opponents, and has never faced an opponent from West Virginia
- Auburn is 10-2 all-time against the MAC, 9-1 against the MAAC, and 4-5 against the Big 12
- Auburn is 3-0 this season and 31-6 under Coach Flo when forcing 25+ turnovers; Auburn forced 38 vs. Troy, 27 at North Carolina A&T, 30 at East Carolina
- Katie Frerking leads Auburn in rebounds (9.3), assists (3.7), steals (4.3) and blocks (1.7) and is second in scoring (12.3)
- Frerking leads the SEC and ranks 8th in the nation in steals (4.3/game)
- Frerking had a career-high 7 steals in the win at N.C. A&T
- Frerking had her third career double-double at East Carolina with 10 points and career-high 13 rebounds
- Brandy Montgomery is Auburn's scoring leader through three games with 16.7 points/game
- Auburn's 32-point win over North Carolina A&T was its largest margin of victory in a road game since Nov. 11, 2011 at Mercer (34 points; 77-43)
- Jessica Jones set career-highs in rebounds (8), steals (5) and blocks (4) in the first two games
- Auburn is in its 46th season of women's basketball and has 885 program wins
- 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)
- Auburn is 128-35 all-time in the month of November; Coach Flo is 20-8 in November at Auburn

Last Time Out

>> Katie Frerking picked up her third career double-double, and the Auburn women's basketball team kept up the defensive pressure to remain unbeaten with a 61-52 victory at East Carolina Sunday afternoon.
>> The Tigers (3-0) led by as many as 18 late in the third quarter but went cold late, going the final 6:40 of the game without a field goal. As such, East Carolina (3-1) was able to cut the Auburn lead to single-digits in the final two minutes. But clutch free-throw shooting sealed the win for Auburn as the Tigers went 7-for-10 in the fourth quarter and 15-for-20 at the line for the game.
>> Frerking recorded her third career double-double and Auburn's first of the season with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. She also added three assists, three steals and a block. Janiah McKay led Auburn with 17 points, including five key free throws in the fourth quarter, and Brandy Montgomery added 10 points.
>> For the third straight game, Auburn forced 25-plus opponent turnovers with 30 giveaways by ECU. Those turned into 32 Auburn points, a season-high in points off turnovers. Auburn also out-rebounded the Pirates 37-31, dominating the offensive glass with 17 offensive boards that turned into 16 second-chance points.

Noteworthy

SCOUTING BALL STATE
>> Ball State enters the week at 2-0 after wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Evansville. The Cardinals are averaging 86.0 points per game and have outscored their opponents by an average of 31.5 points per contest.
>> Moriah Monaco and Renee Bennett share the team scoring lead at 19.0 points/game. Bennett is also the team's leading rebounder with 10.5 boards/game.
>> As a team, the Cardinals are shooting 51.2 percent from the field, which ranks seventh in the country. BSU also averages 24.5 assists per game, third-best nationally.
>> Last year, Ball State went 22-10 overall and advanced to the second round of the WNIT. The Cardinals were picked to finish second in the MAC.

LAST MEETING: AUBURN 67, BSU 51 (11/29/13)
>> Auburn's defense was too much to handle as the Tigers downed Ball State 67-51 in the first game of the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout in Las Vegas. Freshman Brandy Montgomery led Auburn with 17 points while Tyrese and Tra'Cee Tanner added 14 each.
>> With junior Hasina Muhammad in the lineup for the first time this season, she led an Auburn defense that forced 29 Ball State turnovers, turning them into 39 points on the other end.
>> Three different Ball State players committed six turnovers while Muhammad picked up six steals for the Tigers. Kiani Parker added four steals while Tra'Cee Tanner and Brandy Montgomery picked up a pair each.
>> For Montgomery, it was a career-high 17 points and her fourth double-digit scoring effort in her first five games as a Tiger. The Tanner sisters combined for 28 points and 12 rebounds while Muhammad scored 11 points with three rebounds, three blocks and six steals in her season debut.

SCOUTING MARIST
>> Marist is 0-4 to start the season, falling to Hofstra, Rhode Island, Seton Hall and Holy Cross in its first four contests.
>> The Red Foxes were picked to finish fifth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference after going 16-16 overall last year, 14-6 in the MAAC.
>> Allie Clement leads the Red Foxes with 12.3 points per game. She was a preseason All-MAAC third-team selection.
>> Marist averages 53.0 points/game through four games and shoots 33.0% from the field. The Red Foxes have been outscored by an average of 14.5 points/game.

LAST MEETING: MARIST 69, AUBURN 61 (12/21/11)
>> Trailing by as many as 15 points in the second half, Auburn cut the Marist lead to four in the final minute but would get no closer in a 69-61 loss to the Red Foxes in the first round of the New York Life Holiday Tournament hosted by Hofstra.
>> Auburn struggled from the field for the fourth game in a row, shooting 37.7 percent on 23-of-61 shooting. The Tigers, however, were hot from 3-point rage, knocking down 10-of-24 attempts for 41.7 percent.
>> Junior Blanche Alverson led the Tigers with a season-high 20 points, knocking down four 3-pointers. Alverson also had five rebounds with a block and a steal. Sophomore Camille Glymph tallied her fourth double-digit effort in the last five games, scoring 11 points with a pair of assists.

SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA
>> West Virginia is 3-0 on the season with wins over Charleston Southern, Howard and Coppin State. The Mountaineers have won their first three games by an average of 42 points.
>> WVU averages 84.0 points per game and shoots 45.8% from the floor. The Mountaineers are pulling down an average of 51.0 rebounds per game and have forced opponents into 22.0 turnovers/game.
>> Tynice Martin leads the team with 21.0 points/game, and Lanay Montgomery is the leading rebounder with 12.7 boards/game.
>> The Mountaineers were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12. WVU finished 25-10 overall last year, 12-6 in the Big 12, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

TURKEY DAY HOOPS
>> Auburn has only played on Thanksgiving Day once before. The Tigers fell to Xavier 75-64 on Nov. 23, 2006, in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

Looking Ahead

The Tigers return to Auburn Arena on Sunday, Nov. 27, to face Indiana. Game time is set for 1 p.m. CT with the broadcast on SEC Network.