No. 23 Auburn heads to K-State for SEC/Big 12 Challenge

Nov. 30, 2016

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Auburn women's basketball will play its first game as a nationally-ranked team since 2009 when the 23rd-ranked Tigers head to Manhattan, Kan., to face Kansas State Thursday night.

Auburn (6-1) moved into the national rankings for the first time since the final poll of the 2009 season this week as the Associated Press ranked the Tigers 23rd. It's the 320th time Auburn has been a top-25 team dating back to 1980, which ranks 17th among all teams nationwide and fifth among SEC schools. The Tigers are also receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches' Poll.

The Tigers are coming off a thrilling, come-from-behind 71-67 victory over Indiana Sunday where Auburn trailed by 17 points with just over nine minutes to play, then outscored the Hoosiers 32-14 in the fourth quarter to earn the win. Brandy Montgomery was two points shy of a career-high with 28 in the game, including 16 in the fourth quarter to spark the comeback. She scored 10 straight points in a two-minute stretch late in the quarter to pull the Tigers even.

Auburn continues to be one of the nation's top defensive teams. Through Tuesday's games, the Tigers rank 10th nationally in scoring defense, holding opponents to 50.6 points per game. Auburn ranks second in the country in steals per game (14.9) and turnovers forced (27.7). Senior Katie Frerking has led the defensive effort with an SEC-best 3.6 steals per game, which ranks 15th nationally. Frerking's 25 total steals through seven games rank her sixth in the nation.

Thursday's game is part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge that includes 10 games this weekend between SEC and Big 12 schools. Seven of the 10 games this weekend feature teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the national polls. The two leagues sent a combined 17 teams to postseason play in 2016, including 15 in the NCAA Tournament Thursday's game is a showdown between two teams that advanced to the NCAA second round last season.

Kansas State (6-0) picked up three wins last week at the Paradise Jam in the Bahamas, defeating NC State, LSU and UTEP to win their division of the tournament. The Wildcats, who average 71.4 points per game, were picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 and are receiving votes in the AP poll. Auburn and K-State have played once before with the Wildcats earning a 67-54 win in the third round of the 2007 WNIT.

Andy Burcham will have the radio broadcast on WTGZ 93.9 FM beginning at 7:15 p.m. CT. Fans can also listen live via TuneIn Radio or the above link to AuburnTigers.com. The game will have a local television broadcast on Cox Channel Kansas, and fans can watch a live stream (for a fee) at K-StateHD.tv.

Auburn Quick Hitters

- Auburn is ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2009; the Tigers come in at No. 23 this week
- Auburn's last national ranking came in the final poll of 2008-09 when the TIgers were ranked 8th; Auburn was the SEC Champion that season
- As of Nov. 27, Auburn ranks 2nd in the nation in turnovers forced (27.7/game), 4th in the nation in steals (14.9/game), and 10th in scoring defense (50.6 ppg)
- Auburn has held six of seven opponents at least 10 points below their season scoring average
- Five of Auburn's seven opponents have been held to a season-low scoring total
- Auburn is 0-1 all-time against Kansas State
- K-State won the last meeting 67-54 in the third round of the 2007 WNIT in Manhattan
- K-State is Auburn's second Big 12 opponent of the season (West Virginia)
- Auburn is 4-6 all-time against current members of the Big 12
- Auburn is 31-2 in home non-conference games under Terri Williams-Flournoy and 40-6 in all non-conference games at Auburn Arena
- Auburn is 6-1 for the second straight season
- This is just the second game Auburn has ever played in the state of Kansas
- Auburn is 5-0 this season and 33-6 under Coach Flo when forcing 25+ turnovers; Auburn forced 38 vs. Troy, 27 at North Carolina A&T, 30 at East Carolina, 27 vs. Ball State, 30 vs. Marist
- Auburn forced a season-low 20 turnovers vs. Indiana but turned that into a season-high 33 points
- Auburn trailed Indiana by 17 points in the fourth quarter before mounting a comeback for a 71-67 win on Nov. 27
- Auburn's 32 fourth-quarter points vs. Indiana were the most in a single period since women's basketball went to a four-quarter game in 2015-16
- Brandy Montgomery scored 28 points in the comeback win over Indiana, including 16 in the fourth quarter and 10 straight over a 2-minute stretch to tie the game
- Montgomery is Auburn's scoring leader and ninth in the SEC through seven games with 16.1 points/game
- Katie Frerking leads Auburn in rebounds (8.9), assists (3.3) and steals (3.6) and is second in scoring (13.9)
- Frerking has double-doubles in three of her last five games; she had two in her career entering the season
- Frerking leads the SEC with 3.6 steals per game and ranks fourth in the nation with 25 total steals
- Frerking had a career-high 7 steals in the win at N.C. A&T, then matched that with 7 vs. Indiana
- 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)

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Trailing by 17 with less than nine minutes to play, the Auburn women's basketball team mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback to earn a 71-67 victory over Indiana Sunday afternoon at Auburn Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers scored 32 points in the fourth quarter ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 16 of them from senior Brandy Montgomery ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" and went 11-for-12 at the free-throw line in the final period to put the Hoosiers away in the closing seconds.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º After a dismal third quarter where Auburn scored a season-low nine points, Indiana led 56-39 with just over nine minutes to play in the fourth. But Montgomery took over down the stretch as the Tigers gradually chipped away at the lead. She hit a 3-pointer with 5:44 to play to cut the lead to single-digits at 60-52, then she scored 10 straight points over a two-minute stretch, tying the game at 63-all on a pair of free throws with 2:06 left.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Montgomery finished with a season-high 28 points, and Frerking added a season-high 21 and matched a career-high with seven steals. Frerking was also Auburn's leading rebounder with six. Janiah McKay finished with 12 points, including a perfect 6-for-6 night at the free-throw line.

Noteworthy

BACK IN THE TOP 25
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º At No. 23 in the latest AP poll, Auburn is a ranked team for the first time since the final poll of the 2008-09 season, a span of 137 weeks of rankings since the last appearance.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º This is the 10th time Auburn has been ranked No. 23 in the AP poll. The last time was the poll of Dec. 16, 2003.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is ranked for the 320th time in AP poll history, dating back to 1980. That ranks 17th among all teams nationwide and fifth among SEC schools.

AUBURN-KANSAS STATE SERIES
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º This is the second meeting between Auburn and Kansas State in women's basketball.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º K-State won the only previous meeting 67-54 on March 25, 2007, in Manhattan, in the third round of the WNIT.

SCOUTING KANSAS STATE
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Kansas State is 6-0 on the season and coming off three wins at the Paradise Jam in the Bahamas. The Wildcats beat NC State, LSU and UTEP to claim the tournament title.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Wildcats average 71.4 points/game and have outscored their opponents by an average of 24.7 points/game. K-State's smallest margin of victory this year has been a 15-point win over LSU.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º K-State boasts size - four players at 6-3, one at 6-4 and another at 6-5 - but the Wildcats' guard play leads the way. Senior 5-7 guard Kindred Wesemann leads the Wildcats with 15.8 points/game, shooting mostly 3-pointers: 53 of her 68 shot attempts this year have been beyond the arc (19-53 3FG, 29-68 FG).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Breanna Lewis, a 6-5 center, averages 13.8 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds. She also makes 71.7% of her shots (38-53) from the floor.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn will be familiar with one player on K-State's roster. Junior guard Karyla Middlebrook transferred from Alabama after last season. She averaged 8.8 points and 4.2 rebounds for the Tide in 2015-16.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Last season, K-State went 19-13 overall, 8-10 in the Big 12, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats, who return nine letterwinners, were picked to finish fifth in the Big 12.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 6-1 to open the season. The Tigers' only blemish on the schedule is a 56-52 loss to then-No. 19 West Virginia in the Savannah Invitational championship game.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior Brandy Montgomery is the Tigers' leading scorer, averaging 16.1 points per game. She 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 a season-high 28 points - 16 in the fourth quarter - to lead Auburn's comeback from a 17-point deficit against Indiana on Nov. 27.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior Katie Frerking leads the SEC in steals with 3.6 per game through seven games. She ranks fourth in the nation in total steals with 25. Frerking has posted three double-doubles this season and leads the team with 8.9 rebounds/game, which ranks sixth in the SEC.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior forward Jessica Jones has been a force defensively for the Tigers, posting a career-high four blocks twice already this year and pulling down a career-high 9 rebounds vs. Marist. She also had five steals in the opener vs. Troy and leads the team in field-goal percentage (.556).
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. Auburn is averaging 27.7 opponent turnovers through six games and has forced 27 or more in five of seven contests.

COMEBACK KIDS
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn trailed Indiana by 17 points early in the fourth quarter on Nov. 27, but outscored the Hoosiers 32-14 in the final period to earn a 71-67 victory at home. Brandy Montgomery scored 16 points in that fourth quarter, including 10 straight at one point, to lead the Auburn comeback. Erica Sanders hit the go-ahead jumper with 50 seconds left to give Auburn the lead for good.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Last season, the Tigers came back from another 17-point deficit, this one in the second quarter, to defeat No. 7 Kentucky 66-61. Montgomery scored 27 points in that game, and Erica Sanders hit a key jumper in the final minute to put Auburn up by 3.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is holding opponents to 50.6 points per game, ranking the 10th fifth nationally in scoring defense. The Tigers are also near the top of the nation in turnovers forced (2nd - 27.7) and steals per game (4th - 14.9).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has held every opponent thus far under their season average, and six of seven were held 10 or more points below their average.

Looking Ahead

After a nine-day break for final exams, the Tigers return to action Sunday, Dec. 11, at home against Savannah State. Game time is set for 2 p.m. Tickets are available at AUBTix.com.