Auburn women's hoops travels to Ole Miss Thursday

Feb. 15, 2017

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Auburn women's basketball hits the road for the fifth time in its last seven games Thursday when the Tigers travel to Oxford, Miss., to face Ole Miss. Game time is 8 p.m. at The Pavilion at Ole Miss with the broadcast on SEC Network.

Auburn (15-11, 5-7 SEC) seeks to get back on the winning track after dropping a tough game Sunday at home to Georgia. A season-high crowd of 3,464 fans, the ninth-largest women's basketball crowd at Auburn Arena, was on hand for the annual Pink game.

Ole Miss (15-10, 4-8 SEC) has dropped two straight, including a 66-44 home loss to No. 3 Mississippi State on Sunday. The Rebels have been tough at home this season with a 13-3 mark at The Pavilion, which includes a win over Tennessee.

Auburn played one of its best games of the season in the teams' previous meeting on Jan. 8. The Tigers won 83-60, paced by a 25-point game from Brandy Montgomery and the first career double-double from Janiah McKay, who finished with 13 points and 13 assists.

Andy Burcham and Taylor Jones will have the radio broadcast on WTGZ 93.9 FM beginning at 7:45 p.m. CT. Fans can also listen live via TuneIn Radio or the official Auburn Tigers app. Fans can watch the game on SEC Network with Courtney Lyle and Deb Antonelli calling the action; the game can also be seen online via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN app on mobile devices.

Auburn Quick Hitters

- As of Feb. 13, Auburn ranks third in the nation in turnovers forced (22.3/game), is 8th in the nation in steals (11.8/game), and fourth in turnover margin (+8.3)
- This is the 59th meeting between Auburn and Ole Miss, the 24th in Oxford and the second at The Pavilion
- Auburn is 34-24 all-time against the Rebels and has won three of the last four meetings
- The Tigers won this season's earlier meeting 83-60 in Auburn on Jan. 8
- Auburn won the last meeting between the teams in Oxford, a 65-60 win on Feb. 11 of last season
- Senior Katie Frerking scored a career-high 32 points at Texas A&M (2/5), her second 30-point game this year
- In SEC play, Frerking ranks fourth in the league with 17.4 points/game
- Frerking was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team last week
- Auburn's win over Alabama on Jan. 29 was its fourth straight and seventh in eight meetings with the Tide
- Sophomore Erica Sanders and senior Khady Dieng made their first starts of the season vs. Alabama on Jan. 29 while Jazmine and Jessica Jones came off the bench due to illness; it was Sanders' first career start
- In the Jan. 22 game vs. Kentucky, Brandy Montgomery passed Tyrese Tanner for 10th all-time in scoring at Auburn; she now has 1,563 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
- Five of Auburn's opponents have been held to a season-low scoring total, including No. 6 South Carolina on Thursday
- 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
- 18 of 26 Auburn opponents have committed at least 20 turnovers; Auburn is 14-4 in those games
- Auburn averages 24.0 points per game off opponent turnovers; the Tigers are 11-2 when scoring at least 25
- 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 had her first career double-double with 13 points/13 assists vs. Ole Miss; 13 assists tie for 7th in AU history

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º A season-high crowd of 3,464 fans saw Auburn fight to the very end with Georgia but come up short in a 57-51 loss Sunday at Auburn Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers (15-11, 5-7 SEC) shot a season-low 24.6 percent and gave up 32 defensive rebounds to Georgia (13-12, 5-7), who overcame 22 turnovers to earn its second straight victory over Auburn.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Brandy Montgomery scored 16 points while Katie Frerking added 13 and Janiah McKay had 12. Frerking was the Tigers' leading rebounder with eight. Auburn scored 16 points off 22 Georgia turnovers, but the Lady Bulldogs took advantage of 15 offensive rebounds, turning those into 19 second-chance points. The Tigers also had plenty of opportunities at the free-throw line in the second half but finished 16-of-25 (64%) from the line.

Noteworthy

A WIN OVER OLE MISS WOULD...
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Give Auburn its 16th win of the season, securing a winning record for the second straight year.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Snap a four-game losing streak.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's third-straight win and eighth out of 10 over Ole Miss.

SERIES HISTORY
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn leads the all-time series with Mississippi 34-24. The Tigers have won seven of the last nine meetings between the teams.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has won the last two meetings, an 83-60 win at home earlier this season and a 65-60 win in the Tigers' first visit to The Pavilion last year.

LAST MEETING: AUBURN 83, OLE MISS 60 (1/8/17)
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior Brandy Montgomery scored 25 points, and sophomore Janiah McKay picked up her first career double-double as Auburn had its highest-scoring SEC game in six years Sunday, defeating Ole Miss 83-60 at Auburn Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers were strong in all phases of the game, scoring 30 points off turnovers while shooting 50 percent from the field and 53 percent on 3-pointers. Auburn also shared the ball well, racking up 25 assists, the most in a game in three seasons.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Montgomery's 25 points came on her best shooting day of the season ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" 10-of-15 (66.7%) from the field and 5-of-6 (83.3%) from 3-point range.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º McKay scored 13 points and had 13 assists for her first career double-double. It was the most assists by an Auburn player since Najat Ouardad had 14 vs. Ole Miss in 2013, and it was Auburn's first points/assists double-double since Ouardad accomplished the feat vs. Samford in 2012.

SCOUTING OLE MISS
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Ole Miss is 15-10 overall, 4-8 SEC, after dropping a 66-44 contest to No. 3 Mississippi State at home Sunday.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Rebels rank third in the SEC in steals with 10.0/game and force an average of 20.4 opponent turnovers per game. Ole Miss averages 68.6 points/game and gives up 59.8/game.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Madinah Muhammad leads Ole Miss with 13.1 points/game while Shandricka Sessom adds 12.1/game. Sessom leads the Rebels with 6.0 rebounds and has four double-doubles this season.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 15-11 for the season, 5-7 in SEC play. Nine of Auburn's 11 losses have come to teams either ranked or receiving votes in the national polls, and six of those losses have been by five points or less.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers are one of the nation's top teams in forcing turnovers with 22.3 per game (3rd in NCAA). Auburn is 8th in the nation in steals per game (11.8) and 6th nationwide in total steals (307). The Tigers are second in the SEC and rank 4th in the nation in turnover margin (+8.3).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Katie Frerking is Auburn's leading scorer with 16.5 points/game. She also leads the Tigers in rebounds (6.2) and steals (2.7). Her 2.7 steals per game are second in the SEC and rank 36th in the nation. Frerking has posted five double-doubles this season and had a career-high 32 points at Texas A&M on Feb. 5. 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 13.9 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 1.0/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 (3.5/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

Auburn returns to Auburn Arena for its final two home games of the season, beginning Monday night as the Tigers host Alabama. Game time is 6 p.m.