Monday Night Hoops: Auburn women host Alabama

Feb. 18, 2017

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Opening Tip

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Auburn women's basketball team returns to Auburn Arena for its final two home games of the season, beginning Monday night as the Tigers host Alabama at 6 p.m.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers are 15-12 overall, 5-8 SEC, looking to snap a five-game skid after dropping a tough 63-59 contest at Ole Miss Thursday night. Alabama is coming off a big home win over Tennessee and stands 16-10 overall, 4-9 in SEC play.

Promotions

- Game Presented by Verizon
- Oven Mitt Giveaway - Free to the first 500 fans, courtesy of Verizon
- Pizza Party "You Want a 'Pizza' Me?" - Free pizza for all fans while supplies last
- Youth Sports Jersey Night - All youth 12 and under wearing their youth sports jersey receive FREE general admission
- Dean's Challenge - College of Architecture, Design & Construction; Ginn College of Engineering; College of Liberal Arts

Auburn Quick Hitters

- As of Feb. 16, Auburn ranks fifth in the nation in turnovers forced (22.2/game), is 11th in the nation in steals (11.7/game), and fifth in turnover margin (+8.1)
- This is the 86th meeting between Auburn and Alabama
- It is the second-most played series in the SEC, behind Ole Miss-Mississippi State (92 meetings)
- Auburn is 49-36 all-time against Alabama, including a 29-9 advantage in Auburn
- Auburn has won four straight against the Tide and seven of the last eight
- The Tigers won the season's first meeting, a 66-55 victory in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 29
- Auburn won both meetings last season, 72-59 in Auburn on Jan. 14; 59-55 in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 7
- 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 eighth in the league with 16.8 points/game
- Frerking was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team last week
- Junior Tiffany Lewis made her first Auburn start against Ole Miss on Feb. 16; her last collegiate start came March 5, 2015, vs. Georgia Tech while playing at Clemson
- 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 1,598 points and ranks ninth in program history
- 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
- Four 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
- 19 of 27 Auburn opponents have committed at least 20 turnovers; Auburn is 14-5 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

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Brandy Montgomery scored 19 points, but Auburn's comeback bid fell short at Ole Miss in a 63-59 loss Thursday night.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers trailed by as many as nine midway through the fourth quarter but cut the deficit to two points in the final minute. But Auburn missed six free throws in the fourth quarter and nine in the game, and could not complete the comeback.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Montgomery, who scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, was Auburn's only player in double figures. Katie Frerking, Tiffany Lewis and Jessica Jones had nine points each. Lewis made her first start at Auburn in the game. Jones finished with a game-high 10 rebounds as Auburn won the rebounding battle 42-38; it was the first time this season for Auburn to fall when outrebounding its opponent.


Noteworthy

A WIN OVER ALABAMA WOULD...
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Give Auburn its 16th win of the season, securing a .500 or better record for the second straight year.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Snap a five-game losing streak.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Be Auburn's fifth straight win over Alabama.

SERIES HISTORY
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn leads the all-time series with Alabama 49-36. The Tigers are 29-9 against Alabama at home, including a 5-1 record at Auburn Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has won four straight and seven of the last eight meetings in the series, dating back to 2013. The Tigers have won the last five meetings in Auburn.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers earned a 66-55 win in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 29 in the teams' earlier meeting this year. Auburn won both meetings last season, earning a 72-59 win in Auburn and a 59-55 victory in Tuscaloosa.

LAST MEETING: AUBURN 66, ALABAMA 55 (1/29/17)
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º A 26-point night from Janiah McKay and 20 points from Katie Frerking ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" including 12 in the fourth quarter ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" led Auburn to a comeback victory over Alabama, 66-55, Sunday night at Coleman Coliseum.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers trailed by as many as eight points in the third quarter before opening the fourth on a 16-4 run. A pair of Frerking 3-pointers to open the final period gave Auburn its first lead since early in the second quarter, and the Tigers never trailed again.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Frerking scored 12 of her 20 points in the fourth quarter as Auburn outscored Alabama 25-11 in the final 10 minutes. In Auburn's last three games with Alabama ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" all victories ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Frerking has scored at least 20 points. Frerking also had four steals McKay, meanwhile, was 10-of-19 from the field and 6-of-7 at the free-throw line for her second 20+ point game in SEC play.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Erica Sanders and Khady Dieng made their first starts of the season in place of Jazmine and Jessica Jones, who had not practiced the last two days while suffering from flu-like symptoms. Sanders tallied six points in her first career start. Brandy Montgomery was held scoreless on the day but was Auburn's leading rebounder with six.

SCOUTING ALABAMA
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Alabama is coming off its biggest win of the year, a 65-57 victory over Tennessee Thursday night at home. The Crimson Tide is 16-10 overall, 4-8 in SEC play.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Alabama is the SEC's top rebounding team, averaging 42.1 boards per game and outrebounding opponents by an average of 5.5 per game. The Tide blocks 4.2 shots per game, third-best in the SEC.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Meoshonti Knight and Hannah Cook share the team lead in scoring with 11.4 points/game. Cook is the top 3-point shooter in the league with 62 makes this year and shooting 35.8% from long range. Ashley Knight has blocked 59 shots (2.3/game), 2nd-best in the SEC.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 15-12 for the season, 5-8 in SEC play. Nine of Auburn's 12 losses have come to teams either ranked or receiving votes in the national polls, and eight losses have been by six 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 11th in the nation in steals per game (11.7) and 5th nationwide in total steals (316). The Tigers are second in the SEC and rank 4th in the nation in turnover margin (+8.1).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Katie Frerking is Auburn's leading scorer with 16.2 points/game. She also leads the Tigers in rebounds (6.3) and steals (2.6). Her 2.6 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 14.1 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

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º It will be Senior Night at Auburn Arena Thursday when the Tigers host LSU at 6 p.m. Khady Dieng, Katie Frerking and Brandy Montgomery will be honored as the Tigers' three seniors, along with manager Tammy Trout.