Women's hoops heads to Alabama for Sunday showdown

Jan. 28, 2017

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Auburn women's basketball continues a stretch with four of five games on the road Sunday as the Tigers travel across the state to take on Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Game time is 5 p.m. at Coleman Coliseum.

Auburn (14-7, 4-3 SEC) looks to bounce back from a pair of losses in SEC play last week, a home loss to Kentucky and a road setback at Missouri. A victory Sunday would give Auburn a winning SEC record at the end of January for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

Alabama (15-6, 3-5 SEC) has dropped four of its last five SEC games and is coming off an 87-80 loss at Vanderbilt Thursday night. Auburn won both contests against the Tide last season, earning a 72-59 win at home and a 59-55 victory in Tuscaloosa.

Sunday's game will be the first meeting between the teams at Coleman Coliseum since 2011; the Crimson Tide played the majority of its home games at Foster Auditorium over the last five seasons.

Andy Burcham and Brit Bowen will have the radio broadcast on WTGZ 93.9 FM beginning at 4:45 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 with Melissa Lee and Tamika Catchings calling the action; the game is also available online via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app on mobile devices.

Auburn Quick Hitters

- This is the 85th meeting between Auburn and Alabama
- It is the second-most played series in the SEC, behind Ole Miss-Mississippi State (90 meetings)
- Auburn is 48-36 all-time against Alabama, but the Crimson Tide leads 22-16 in Tuscaloosa
- Auburn has won three straight against the Tide and six of the last seven
- Auburn won both meetings last season, 72-59 in Auburn on Jan. 14; 59-55 in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 7
- This is Auburn's first game at Coleman Coliseum since 2011
- In last Sunday's game vs. Kentucky, Brandy Montgomery passed Tyrese Tanner for 10th all-time in scoring at Auburn; she now has 1,538 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 21 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 16.0 points/game; Brandy Montgomery is second with 15.2 points/game
- Frerking also leads Auburn in rebounds (6.6) and steals (2.8)
- 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

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Janiah McKay scored 14 points and Emari Jones added a career-high 11, but Auburn dropped its first SEC road game of the year, falling at Missouri 68-53 Thursday night.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn (14-7, 4-3 SEC) went cold in the second half as Missouri's Cierra Porter scored a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers. Mizzou improved to 15-7 overall, 5-3 in the SEC.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn shot 30.4 percent from the field while allowing Missouri to shoot 53.3 percent, the highest by an Auburn opponent this season. Known as a 3-point shooting team, Missouri took the ball inside, outscoring Auburn in the paint 36-16. Missouri also controlled the boards, outrebounding Auburn 40-27.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Eight of McKay's 14 points came at the free-throw line, but Auburn was just 13-of-22 at the stripe one game after hitting all 14 attempts against Kentucky. Katie Frerking added 10 points for Auburn, and Jessica Jones was Auburn's leading rebounder with six.

Noteworthy

A WIN OVER ALABAMA WOULD...
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Give Auburn a winning record in SEC play at the end of January for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Snap a two-game SEC losing streak.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's fourth straight win over Alabama and seventh in the last eight meetings.

SERIES HISTORY
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn leads the all-time series with Alabama 48-36. The Crimson Tide leads the series in Tuscaloosa 22-16.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has won three straight and six of the last seven meetings in the series, dating back to 2013.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn won both meetings last season, earning a 72-59 win in Auburn and a 59-55 victory in Tuscaloosa.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º This will be Auburn's first game at Coleman Coliseum since the 2011 season, a 66-55 Auburn victory. The last five meetings in Tuscaloosa were played at Foster Auditorium.

LAST MEETING: AUBURN 59, ALABAMA 55 (2/7/16)
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior Katie Frerking scored 22 points, and the Auburn women's basketball team held off a fourth-quarter Alabama charge to earn a 59-55 win Sunday afternoon at Foster Auditorium.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers built a 15-point lead in the third quarter but saw Alabama put together a big run to open the fourth, cutting the Tigers' lead to as few as three points in the closing minutes. But Auburn was able to make just enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the rally, picking up the season sweep of the Crimson Tide and moving above .500 in SEC play.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Frerking's 22 points led all scorers, and she added four steals, three assists, three rebound and two blocks. She shot 80 percent from the floor (8-of-10 and was 3-of-5 from 3-point range. In two games against Alabama this season, Frerking has scored 43 points - 22 today, 21 in the home game on Jan. 14 - leading the Tigers both times. Brandy Montgomery added 11 points and a team-best five rebounds, and Tra'Cee Tanner scored nine points.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn shot 47.8 percent from the field for the game, the Tigers' second-best shooting day in conference play this season, and held Alabama to a 33.3-percent day. The Tigers were 50% from 3-point range, hitting 4-of-8 attempts (three from Frerking) while Alabama was 3-of-16 from beyond the arc. The Tide had two more rebounds than the Tigers, 35-33.

SCOUTING ALABAMA
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Alabama is 15-6 overall, 3-5 in SEC play. The Tide has dropped four of its last five games in league play, falling to Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt while earning a win over Ole Miss. Alabama has lost three straight at home.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Alabama is the SEC's top rebounding team, averaging 43.1 boards per game to rank 24th in the nation. The Tide also gets to the free-throw line more than all but one team in the country - its 518 attempts this season rank second in the nation.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Ashley Knight ranks 17th in the nation and leads the SEC in blocked shots with 55 (2.6/game). Hannah Cook is the SEC's leading 3-point shooter for the season, making 54 this year (2.6/game) and shooting 38.8% from long range.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 14-7 for the season, 4-3 in SEC play. Six 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 (258). The Tigers are second in the SEC and rank third in the nation in turnover margin (+8.5).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Katie Frerking is Auburn's leading scorer with 16.0 points/game. She also leads the Tigers in rebounds (6.6) and steals (2.8). Her 2.8 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 15.2 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 return to Auburn Arena Thursday night to face No. 5 Mississippi State. Game time is 8 p.m. with the broadcast on SEC Network.