Auburn women face Ole Miss Sunday at Auburn Arena

Jan. 7, 2017

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AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn women's basketball team plays its second straight home game Sunday afternoon, hosting the Ole Miss Rebels at Auburn Arena. Game time is 3 p.m. and doors open at 2 p.m.

Fans that attended Friday night's gymnastics meet vs. Oregon State or Saturday's men's basketball game vs. Ole Miss can bring their ticket stubs to the box office for a free general admission ticket to Sunday's game.

The Tigers (11-5, 1-1 SEC) look to bounce back after a Thursday night loss to No. 5 South Carolina. Despite the loss, Auburn had a strong rebounding effort, getting a game-high eight boards from Jazmine Jones, and pulling down 17 offensive rebounds against a much bigger South Carolina side. Senior Katie Frerking continued her strong play in the early going of SEC competition, leading the Tigers with 16 points.

Ole Miss (12-3, 1-1 SEC) enters Sunday's game looking for its first road victory of the season. The Rebels dropped their last contest as well, falling at Alabama 90-80 on Thursday night. Auburn and Ole Miss met once last season with the Tigers claiming a 65-60 victory in Oxford. This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season; the Tigers will travel to Oxford on Feb. 16.

Andy Burcham, Taylor Mounts and Brit Bowen will have the radio broadcast on WTGZ 93.9 FM beginning at 2:45 p.m. CT. Fans can also listen live via TuneIn Radio or the above link to AuburnTigers.com. Roy Philpott and Brooke Weisbrod will call the action on SEC Network; fans can also watch online via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app on mobile devices.

Promotions

- TicketBack - Free admission with 1/6 gymnastics or 1/7 men's basketball ticket
- Photobooth at Main Entrance
- Balloon Artist

Auburn Quick Hitters

- As of Jan. 5, Auburn ranks fifth in the nation in turnovers forced (24.1/game), is 11th in the nation in steals (12.7/game), and sixth in turnover margin (+8.6)
- This is the 58th meeting between Auburn and Ole Miss, the 25th in Auburn and the fifth at Auburn Arena
- Auburn is 33-24 all-time against the Rebels, and the teams have split the last four meetings
- Auburn won the last meeting between the teams, a 65-60 win in Oxford on Feb. 11 of last season
- The Tigers finished non-conference play with 10 wins for the second straight season
- Six of Auburn's 16 opponents have been held to a season-low scoring total
- Auburn was ranked No. 23 in the Week 4 AP Top 25; it was the first ranking for Auburn since 2009
- 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
- Thirteen of 16 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 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
- The Tigers scored 31 points in both the third and fourth quarters vs. Drake
- 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)
- Katie Frerking leads Auburn with 16.0 points/game; Brandy Montgomery is second with 15.2 points/game
- Frerking also leads Auburn in rebounds (7.3) and steals (3.1)
- Frerking scored her 1,000th career point at Florida on Jan. 1
- 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
- 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; she bettered her rebounding high with 11 against Drake, then scored career-high 15 points vs. Jacksonville on her 21st birthday
- Auburn is in its 46th season of women's basketball and has 893 program wins

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Katie Frerking scored 16 points, but Auburn could not dig out of a big early hole in a 73-47 loss to No. 5 South Carolina Thursday night at Auburn Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers (11-5, 1-1 SEC) outscored the Gamecocks (12-1, 2-0) 33-29 through the second and third quarters. But Carolina's Kaela Davis hit five 3-pointers and scored 19 points in the first quarter to push the Gamecocks to an early 23-point lead that proved insurmountable for the Tigers.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Frerking was the only player in double-figures for Auburn. Tiffany Lewis scored nine points off the bench, and Jazmine Jones had eight points and a team-best eight rebounds.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Despite a major size disadvantage, Auburn only grabbed five fewer rebounds than Carolina (37-32). The Tigers pulled down 17 offensive rebounds, turning those into 12 second-chance points. Auburn also forced South Carolina into 15 turnovers, all in the final three quarters, converting those to 15 points.

Noteworthy

A WIN OVER OLE MISS WOULD...
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's second straight win and seventh in the last nine meetings vs. the Rebels.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Avoid back-to-back losses for the first time this season.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Move Auburn to 2-1 in SEC play for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

SERIES HISTORY
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn leads the all-time series with Mississippi 33-24. The Tigers have won six of the last eight meetings between the teams.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The teams have split the last four meetings, including a 65-60 Auburn victory last season in Oxford. Auburn is 16-8 all-time against Ole Miss at home, including a 3-1 edge at Auburn Arena.

LAST MEETING: AUBURN 65, UM 60 (2/11/16)
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to earn its fourth-straight win, defeating Ole Miss 65-60 Thursday night in SEC women's basketball action at the new Pavilion at Ole Miss.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior Tra'Cee Tanner led three Tigers in double figures with 19 points, nine rebounds and had a key blocked shot in the closing seconds as Auburn (17-8, 7-5 SEC) outscored the Rebels 20-8 in the fourth quarter to pick up its third road win in SEC play.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn shot 53.3 percent for the game, its best in SEC play and second-best overall this season, including a 58.3-percent mark in the second half. The Tigers attempted just four 3-pointers in the game but connected on three of them.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers overcame 21 turnovers - 13 of them in the first half - and poor free-throw shooting early to pick up their first win in Oxford since 2012.

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Ole Miss is 12-3 overall, 1-1 in SEC play. The Rebels defeated Arkansas in their SEC opener before falling at Alabama Thursday night. The Rebels are unbeaten at home but 0-3 on the road.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Ole Miss is second in the SEC in scoring defense, holding opponents to 52.6 points/game. The Rebels average 77.6 points themselves. Like Auburn, Ole Miss also thrives on forcing turnovers - the Rebs average 11.8 steals and 22.7 opponent turnovers this season.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Madinah Muhammad leads the Rebels with 14.1 points per game. Shequila Joseph is the team's leading rebounder with 5.9 per game.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Rebels have already surpassed their win total from last season as they finished 10-20 overall, 2-14 in SEC play.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 11-5 for the season, 1-1 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 (6th in NCAA). Auburn is 11th in the nation in steals per game (13.1) and third nationwide in total steals (203). The Tigers are first in the SEC and rank sixth in the nation in turnover margin (+8.6).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Katie Frerking is Auburn's leading scorer with 16.3 points/game. She also leads the Tigers in rebounds (7.3) and steals (3.1). Her 3.1 steals per game are second in the SEC and rank 25th in the nation. Frerking has posted all five of Auburn's 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 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. She then hit a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored 26 points to lead Auburn past Florida 82-75 on Jan. 1.
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 (3.2/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 contributed a career-high eight assists in a Dec. 11 win over Savannah State.
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

Auburn travels to Nashville, Tenn., to face Vanderbilt at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12.