Auburn women host Tennessee for "We Back Pat" Night

Jan. 18, 2017

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AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn women's basketball team looks to build on two straight SEC victories as they face a tough test Thursday night with the Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Game time is 6 p.m. at Auburn Arena.

Thursday's game is part of the Southeastern Conference's "We Back Pat" Week. Fans are encouraged to wear purple in support of Alzheimer's research and The Pat Summitt Foundation. Auburn players will wear "We Back Pat" shirts during warmups, and Auburn coaches and staff will wear purple.

In addition, fans with tickets from Wednesday's men's basketball game vs. LSU can bring those back and receive free general admission to Thursday's game.

The Tigers (13-5, 3-1 SEC) are off to their best start in SEC play since the 2010-11 season and come into Thursday's game having won two straight SEC games. In their last outing, Auburn overcame a 17-point second-half deficit at Vanderbilt last Thursday to earn a 64-59 win in Nashville. It was the Tigers' second comeback of 17 points this season; Auburn also trailed Indiana by 17 in the fourth quarter on Nov. 27 before rallying for a 71-67 victory at home.

Tennessee (11-6, 2-2 SEC) has dropped two straight SEC games coming into Thursday night - at home to Mississippi State and on the road to Ole Miss - but pulled off a big win over No. 6 Notre Dame on Monday night, rallying from a 15-point second-half deficit to earn a 71-69 win. The Lady Vols have won nine straight over the Tigers dating back to the 2009 season.

Andy Burcham and Taylor Mounts will have the radio broadcast on WTGZ 93.9 FM beginning at 5:45 p.m. CT. Fans can also listen live via TuneIn Radio or the above link to AuburnTigers.com. Brit Bowen and Joe Ciampi will call the action on SEC Network +; fans can watch online via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app on mobile devices.

Promotions

- TicketBack - Free admission with ticket from Wednesday's MBB game vs. LSU
- We Back Pat Night - Fans encouraged to wear purple in support of Alzheimer's research and the Pat Summitt Foundation
- National Popcorn Day - Free popcorn to first 500 fans
- Red Panda at Halftime
- Free Pizza for Students
- Dean's Challenge - School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences; College of Veterinary Medicine

Auburn Quick Hitters

- As of Jan. 17, Auburn ranks third in the nation in turnovers forced (24.1/game), is ninth in the nation in steals (12.5/game), and sixth in turnover margin (+8.9)
- This is the 53rd meeting between Auburn and Tennessee, the 18th in Auburn and the fifth at Auburn Arena
- Tennessee leads the all-time series 41-10 and has won the last nine meetings
- Auburn's last two wins came during the 2009 season; an 82-68 win at home and a 78-58 win in the SEC Tournament
- Tennessee won last season's meeting 79-52 in Knoxville
- Auburn is 3-1 in SEC play for the first time since the 2010-11 season
- Auburn has two comeback wins from 17-point 2nd half deficits this season: vs. Indiana (11/27) and at Vanderbilt (1/12)
- Auburn's 83-60 win over Ole Miss (1/8) was its largest margin of victory and highest scoring total in SEC play under head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy
- Six of Auburn's opponents have been held to a season-low scoring total
- Auburn is 7-0 this season and 35-6 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; 28 vs. Savannah State; 26 at Florida
- Fifteen of 18 Auburn opponents have committed at least 20 turnovers
- Auburn held Jacksonville to eight points in the first half (12/28); first time since 2006 and third time since 1989-90 to hold opponent to single-digits in a half (5 pts. at UMES, 2006; 9 pts. vs. Tuskegee, 1990)
- Auburn scored 62 points in the second half vs. Drake; the most in a half since 2008 and two points shy of a school record for points in a half
- Auburn's 32 fourth-quarter points vs. Indiana were the Tigers' most in a single period since women's basketball went to a four-quarter game in 2015-16
- The Tigers scored 31 points in both the third and fourth quarters vs. Drake and 30 points in the 1st quarter vs. Ole Miss
- Janiah McKay scored a career-high 28 points and helped force overtime vs. Virginia Tech (12/18); she followed that up with 25 points vs. Drake (12/21)
- McKay had her first career double-double with 13 points/13 assists vs. Ole Miss; 13 assists tie for 7th in AU history
- Katie Frerking leads Auburn with 16.1 points/game; Brandy Montgomery is second with 15.8 points/game
- Frerking also leads Auburn in rebounds (7.1) and steals (3.0)
- Frerking scored her 1,000th career point at Florida on Jan. 1; Montgomery scored her 1,500th at Vandy on Jan. 12
- Frerking is one of two players in Auburn history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists and 200 steals; the other is Mae Ola Bolton
- Frerking scored a career-high 30 points and had 11 rebounds at Louisiana Tech (12/14)
- Frerking has double-doubles in five games this year; she had two in her career entering the season
- Frerking had a career-high 7 steals in the win at N.C. A&T, then matched that with 7 vs. Indiana
- 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 was 7-for-8 from 3-point range in the win over Florida; one 3-pointer shy of a single-game school record
- Montgomery needs 13 points to move into the Auburn all-time top 10 in scoring
- Auburn is No. 22 in the latest NCAA RPI (as of Jan. 17)

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn overcame a 17-point third-quarter deficit to pick up its third SEC win of the season, defeating Vanderbilt 64-59 in SEC women's basketball action Thursday night at Memorial Gym.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Three players scored in double-figures for the Tigers (13-5, 3-1 SEC), led by 18 from senior Katie Frerking and 16 from senior Brandy Montgomery. It was the second comeback of 17 points for Auburn this season; the Tigers also rallied from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter against Indiana on Nov. 27.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn forced Vanderbilt into 24 turnovers, converting those into 24 points ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 17 of those points coming on 10 second-half turnovers. Frerking had three steals, while McKay, Erica Sanders and Jessica Jones had two apiece.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º After 12 first-half turnovers, Auburn did not turn the ball over once in the second half. The Tigers shot 39.3 percent for the game but finished strong, shooting 50 percent in the fourth quarter.


Noteworthy

A WIN OVER TENNESSEE WOULD...
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Move Auburn to 4-1 in SEC play for the first time since the 2010-11 season when the Tigers started 5-1.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Snap a 9-game losing streak to Tennessee, dating back to the 2010 season.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's first win over Tennessee at Auburn Arena.

SERIES HISTORY
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Tennessee leads the series with Auburn 41-10, including a 13-4 edge in games played in Auburn.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Lady Vols have won nine straight in the series, dating back to the 2010 season. Auburn's last two wins in the series came during the SEC Championship season of 2009 when the Tigers defeated UT both at home and in the SEC Tournament.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º This will be the first meeting between Auburn and Tennessee when neither team is ranked.

LAST MEETING: TENNESSEE 79, AU 52 (1/10/16)
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Tra'Cee Tanner had her sixth double-double of the season, but Auburn fell at No. 12/11 Tennessee 79-52 at Thompson-Boling Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Tanner scored a team-best 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to pick up her sixth double-double of the season and second in three conference games. She was held in check through most of the first half by a bigger Tennessee frontcourt, but scored eight points in the second half to hit double-digits for the ninth-straight game.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Tennessee shot a season-high 59.6 percent from the field and held Auburn to a 29.4-percent shooting day. Auburn was able to get some offense going behind the arc, knocking down four 3-pointers on the day, but Tennessee was able to exploit its size advantage to the tune of 48 points in the paint. The Tigers took care of the ball with only 12 turnovers while forcing 19, but Auburn was unable to score in transition while Tennessee scored 22 fast-break points.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Brandy Montgomery scored 11 points - nine in the first quarter - and Janiah McKay added 10 off the bench for Auburn.

AUBURN-TENNESSEE TIES
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Tory Lewis, older sister of Auburn junior guard Tiffany Lewis, played softball for the Lady Vols from 2011-15.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Tiffany Lewis and Tennessee junior guard Alexa Middleton were high school teammates at Riverdale HS in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

SCOUTING TENNESSEE
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Tennessee is 11-6 overall and 2-2 in SEC play, but coming off a come-from-behind 71-69 win over No. 6 Notre Dame at home Monday night.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º As usual, the Lady Vols are one of the nation's top rebounding teams, averaging 44.9 per game (9th NCAA). UT scores an average of 75.1 points per game (40th NCAA) and shoots 42.4% from the field.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Tennessee has size at all positions with only one player on the roster smaller than 5-11. Three players - Schaquilla Nunn, Kamera Harris and Mercedes Russell - are 6-3 or taller.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Diamond DeShields leads Tennessee with 16.5 points/game and Russell adds 16.2 points and a team-high 9.3 rebounds/game. Jaime Nared has put together a strong junior season with 15.2 points/game.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 13-5 for the season, 3-1 in SEC play. All of Auburn's losses have come to teams either currently ranked or receiving votes in the national polls, and the Tigers have had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead in the final seconds of regulation in four of those five games.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers are one of the nation's top teams in forcing turnovers with 24.1 per game (3rd in NCAA). Auburn is 9th in the nation in steals per game (12.5) and 4th nationwide in total steals (225). The Tigers are first in the SEC and rank sixth in the nation in turnover margin (+8.9).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Katie Frerking is Auburn's leading scorer with 16.1 points/game. She also leads the Tigers in rebounds (7.1) and steals (3.0). Her 3.0 steals per game are second in the SEC and rank 24th in the nation. Frerking has posted five double-doubles this season and had a career-high 30 points in a win at Louisiana Tech on Dec. 14. She scored her 1,000th career point at Florida on Jan. 1 while picking up her fifth double-double of the year.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Brandy Montgomery is Auburn's second-leading scorer with 15.8 points/game. She was named to the preseason All-SEC Second Team by the league's coaches. She has three games with 25+ points this season: a season-high 28 (including 16 in the 4th quarter) to lead a comeback win over Indiana (11/27), 26 in a win at Florida that included a career-high seven 3-pointers (1/1), and 25 in a home victory over Ole Miss where she was 10-of-15 from the floor (1/8).
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 11 rebounds vs. Drake. She leads the Tigers in blocks with 1.1/game. She also had five steals in the opener vs. Troy, and she scored a career-high 15 points on her 21st birthday in Auburn's 53-41 win over Jacksonville on Dec. 28.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Sophomore point guard Janiah McKay and junior forward Jazmine Jones are the Tigers' other two returning starters. McKay leads the Tigers in assists (3.8/game) and scored a career-high 28 points to lead Auburn's comeback against Virginia Tech, then scored 25 in a victory over Drake three days later. She earned her first career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds vs. Ole Miss on Jan. 8, and she scored her 500th career point vs. South Carolina on Jan. 5.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Jones started all 33 games as a sophomore and had one of the best shooting percentages on the team, shooting 52.6% from the floor. She scored a season-high 10 points and had a career-high five steals vs. Drake on Dec. 21.

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 The Tigers faced another 17-point deficit on Jan. 12, this one on the road at Vanderbilt. Vandy led 45-28 with 5:27 left in the third quarter, but Auburn went on a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to 7 at the end of the third quarter, then outscored the Commodores 22-10 in the fourth to claim the victory. Montgomery scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and hit three free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.

Looking Ahead

Auburn hosts Kentucky at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22. It's the annual "All Auburn, All Orange" game and fans are encouraged to wear orange.