Auburn women's hoops travels to Missouri Thursday

Jan. 25, 2017

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" A stretch of four games out of five on the road for the Auburn women's basketball team begins Thursday night as the Tigers travel to Columbia, Mo., to take on Missouri. Game time is 7 p.m. at Mizzou Arena.

Auburn (14-6, 4-2 SEC) looks to bounce back after a tough home loss to Kentucky Sunday that snapped a three-game SEC winning streak. Even so, the Tigers are on track for their best SEC start in several years - a win at Missouri would put Auburn at 5-2 in league play, matching the start from the 2010-11 season.

With a 22-point effort against Kentucky, senior Brandy Montgomery moved into the Auburn all-time top 10 in sscoring after Sunday's game, passing Tyrese Tanner for 10th. She now has 1,532 career points and needs 51 more to move up to ninth.

Missouri (14-7, 4-3 SEC) is coming off a 60-46 victory at Arkansas Monday night and enters Thursday's game winners of three straight. Mizzou is one of the nation's top free-throw shooting teams, averaging 78.5 percent from the line to rank eighth in the country.

The teams last met in the second round of the 2016 SEC Tournament, where Jazmine Jones scored 10 points - including the game-winner - in a 47-45 Auburn victory.

Andy Burcham and Brit Bowen will have the radio broadcast on WTGZ 93.9 FM beginning at 6:45 p.m. CT. Fans can also listen live via TuneIn Radio or the above link to AuburnTigers.com. Fans can watch the game on SEC Network + via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app on mobile devices.

Auburn Quick Hitters

- As of Jan. 24, Auburn ranks third in the nation in turnovers forced (23.8/game), is sixth in the nation in steals (12.6/game), and third in turnover margin (+8.7)
- This is the ninth meeting between Auburn and Missouri, the seventh since Missouri joined the SEC in 2012-13
- The all-time series is tied 4-4, but Missouri holds a 2-0 lead in games played in Columbia
- The teams split two meetings last season; Missouri won 69-55 in Auburn, but Auburn won 47-45 in the SEC Tournament
- In Sunday's game vs. Kentucky, Brandy Montgomery passed Tyrese Tanner for 10th all-time in scoring at Auburn; she now has 1,532 points
- Auburn has three comeback wins from 17-point deficits this season: vs. Indiana (11/27), at Vanderbilt (1/12) and vs. Tennessee (1/19)
- Auburn's win over Tennessee on Jan. 19 was its first over the Lady Vols since 2009 and the largest margin of victory in a regular-season game for Auburn against UT
- 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
- Sixteen of 19 Auburn opponents have committed at least 20 turnovers
- 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 29 points in Auburn's 79-61 win over Tennessee (1/19)
- McKay scored 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 16.4 points/game; Brandy Montgomery is second with 15.7 points/game
- Frerking also leads Auburn in rebounds (6.9) 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
- Auburn is No. 23 in the latest NCAA RPI (as of Jan. 24)

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior Brandy Montgomery scored a game-high 22 points, but Auburn fell just short in a back-and-forth contest with Kentucky, 64-60, Sunday at Auburn Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers saw a three-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Wildca, who have now won four straight. The teams traded the lead nine times over the course of the game, including five times in the fourth quarter, but Auburn was unable to get a pair of key defensive stops late as Kentucky scored on its final two possessions to secure the victory.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn was a perfect 14-for-14 at the free-throw line, the first time for the Tigers to make all of its attempts at the line since Dec. 1, 2000, when they were 12-for-12 against Ball State.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Montgomery's 22 points led all scorers and marked her sixth 20+ point effort of the season. She also led the Tigers with a season-high eight rebounds. Katie Frerking added 16 points, and Jazmine Jones and Janiah McKay had eight apiece.

Noteworthy

A WIN OVER MISSOURI WOULD...
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Move Auburn to 5-2 in SEC play for the first time since the 2010-11 season when the Tigers started 6-2.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's sixth win in its last seven SEC road games.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's first win in Columbia.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's second straight win over Missouri.

SERIES HISTORY
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn and Missouri have met eight times with each team winning four games. Auburn is 0-2 all-time in Columbia.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The teams split two meetings last season. Missouri won the regular-season meeting in Auburn on Feb. 21, 69-55, and Auburn defeated Missouri in the second round of the SEC Tournament, 47-45.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 2-4 in the series since Missouri joined the SEC.

LAST MEETING: AUBURN 47, MIZZOU 45 (3/3/16)
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Two late Auburn baskets and a huge defensive stop at the buzzer helped the Auburn women's basketball team to a 47-45 win over Missouri in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º In a low-scoring affair, sophomore Jazmine Jones led Auburn with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, and she was one of three Tigers to post a game-high three steals. Juniors Brandy Montgomery and Khady Dieng also had three steals as the Tigers posted 14 steals on the day.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Tied 43-43 with 4:31 to play, both teams picked up defensive stops until Tanner got to the rim for a layup to give Auburn a two-point lead with 2:43 left. Tanner would then block a Jordan Frericks jumper at the other end, leading to a Jones layup to give the Tigers a four-point advantage at the 1:57 mark. A pair of Lindsey Cunningham free throws made it 47-45 with 1:46 to play. Defensive stops at both ends gave Mizzou (21-9) a chance for the final shot, but Cierra Porter's attempt at the buzzer was off the rim, giving Auburn the victory.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º While Missouri hit nine 3-pointers - one more than in their 69-55 win in Auburn 11 days ago - Auburn was able to limit their damage elsewhere. Mizzou only made six other field goals and made it to the free-throw line just seven times. Rebounding was even at 25 apiece.

SCOUTING MISSOURI
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Missouri is 14-7 overall, 4-3 in SEC play, and has won two straight SEC games, including an overtime thriller over Texas A&M last Thursday and a road win at Arkansas Monday night.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Missouri is one of the nation's best free-throw shooting teams at 78.5% for the season, which leads the SEC and ranks eighth in the country. The Tigers average 66.3 points per game and shoot 42.5% from the field.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Sophomore Sophie Cunningham is Missouri's leader in scoring (16.9 ppg), assists (3.9/game), and all three shooting categories - FG% (.479), 3FG% (.377) and FT% (.835). Cierra Porter leads Mizzou with 8.8 rebounds/game.
SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 14-6 for the season, 4-2 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 five of those six games.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers are one of the nation's top teams in forcing turnovers with 23.8 per game (3rd in NCAA). Auburn is 6th in the nation in steals per game (12.6) and 3rd nationwide in total steals (252). The Tigers are first in the SEC and rank third in the nation in turnover margin (+8.7).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Katie Frerking is Auburn's leading scorer with 16.4 points/game. She also leads the Tigers in rebounds (6.9) 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 15.7 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 (3.6/game) and scored a career-high 29 points to lead Auburn's comeback victory over Tennessee on Jan. 19. 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.

Looking Ahead

The Tigers continue a stretch of four out of five games on the road with a trip to cross-state rival Alabama Sunday. Game time is 5 p.m. at Coleman Coliseum with the broadcast on SEC Network.