Auburn women's hoops at home Wednesday night vs. ULM

Nov. 28, 2017

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" The Auburn women's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Auburn Arena on Wednesday night as the Tigers host Louisiana-Monroe at 6 p.m. CT.

Wednesday's game is Elementary School Night - all students in sixth grade and below in Auburn, Opelika and Lee County received a voucher for free admission to the game. Tickets are available at the Auburn Arena ticket office, by phone at 855-282-2010 or by visiting AUBTix.com.

The Tigers (3-3) look to bounce back after a 1-2 weekend at the Challenge in Music City. Auburn opened the weekend with a victory over Georgetown on Friday night before falling to Northwestern and UT-Chattanooga on Saturday and Sunday.

UL-Monroe (2-2) has a pair of victories on the season over Centenary and Millsaps along with setbacks to Grambling and McNeese State. The Warhawks are making their first visit to Auburn in women's basketball.

Andy Burcham will have the radio call on WQSI 95.9 FM beginning at 5:45 p.m. Fans can listen online at AuburnTigers.com or via the official Auburn Tigers app for mobile devices. Paul Ellen and Joe Ciampi are on the call for the SEC Network + broadcast, which can be seen online via WatchESPN or the ESPN app.

Promotions

- Elementary School Night - Every elementary school student in Auburn, Opelika and Lee County received a voucher for free admission to Wednesday's game.
- Teddy Bear Toss - Fans are encouraged to bring teddy bears or other stuffed animals to toss onto the court at halftime; these will be collected and donated.
- Dean's Challenge Kick-off

Auburn Quick Hitters

- Auburn enters Wednesday's game at 3-3 on the season, coming off a 1-2 week at the Challenge in Music City
- This is Auburn's second all-time meeting with Louisiana-Monroe and first in the regular season
- Northeast Louisiana defeated Auburn in the 1985 NCAA Regional Semifinal, 76-71, in Monroe
- Auburn has eight games against teams from the state of Louisiana this season
- Auburn is 60-29 all-time against teams from Louisiana; 1-0 this season
- Auburn's win over North Carolina A&T on Nov. 16 was the 900th win in program history, dating back to 1971-72
- Auburn is the 24th program in NCAA Division I to win 900 women's basketball games
- Under coach Terri Williams-Flournoy, Auburn is 35-3 in non-conference home games
- Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in all six games this season
- Auburn has won 19 of its last 21 games when forcing at least 25 turnovers (1-1 this season)
- Freshman Unique Thompson was named SEC Freshman of the Week after her first career double-double (16 pts, 14 rebs) vs. Louisiana Tech (11/19); she had 10 points and 10 rebounds by halftime
- Thompson had six blocks vs. LA Tech, most for Auburn player since 2011 (Jassany Williams, 7 vs. Duke)
- Thompson became the sixth Auburn freshman since 2005 to earn a start in her first collegiate game; she played 34 minutes in the opener at Virginia Tech
- Thompson pulled down 16 rebounds at Virginia Tech, the most by an Auburn player since Tra'Cee Tanner had 19 at Florida Gulf Coast in 2015
- Thompson is averaging a double-double through six games with 10.8 points and 10.0 rebounds
- Junior point guard Janiah McKay is Auburn's top scorer with 14.8 points/game; she also leads team in steals (2.3) and assists (4.8)
- McKay matched her career-high with 29 points vs. Louisiana Tech (11/19); also had 29 vs. Tennessee and Alabama last year
- McKay had a career-high 8 rebounds vs. North Carolina A&T (11/16)
- Sophomore Daisa Alexander scored a career-high 19 points in the season opener at Virginia Tech (11/13); she scored 26 points all of her freshman season
- Alexander is second on the team with 11.0 points/game; she has scored in double-figures in four of six games
- Junior Erica Sanders had a career-high 6 steals vs. Louisiana Tech (11/19)
- Junior Emari Jones had a career-high 7 rebounds at Virginia Tech (11/13) and earned her first start vs. N.C. A&T (11/16)
- Auburn's 52 rebounds at Virginia Tech were the most since pulling down 57 in an overtime loss at Marquette in 2015
- Auburn is 134-39 all-time in the month of November; Coach Flo is 26-12 in November at Auburn
- Auburn is 61-29 in non-conference games under Terri Williams-Flournoy

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior Janiah McKay led all scorers with 18 points, but the Auburn women's basketball team could not overcome a slow start in a 50-41 loss to Chattanooga in the final game at the Challenge in Music City.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers (3-3) found themselves in a 16-point hole midway through the second quarter but were able to cut that deficit to as few as five points in the fourth quarter. But Chattanooga (4-4) took advantage of their opportunities at the free-throw line late to hold off any potential Auburn comeback.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º McKay's 18 points led all scorers; she was Auburn's only player in double figures and was named to the all-tournament team. Senior Tiffany Lewis added eight points against her hometown team, and senior Jessica Jones had six points and shared the team lead with five rebounds.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn actually made one more field goal than Chattanooga with the Tigers going 16-for-56 (28.1%) and the Mocs hitting 15-of-34 (44.1%). But UTC got to the free-throw line 20 times, knocking down 16 attempts, while Auburn was just 6-of-9 at the stripe with all nine attempts coming in the fourth quarter.

Noteworthy

A WIN OVER ULM WOULD...
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Improve Auburn to 36-3 in non-conference home games under Terri Williams-Flournoy
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Even the all-time series with ULM at 1-1
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Improve Auburn to 3-0 at home this year
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Snap a two-game losing streak

AUBURN vs. LOUISIANA-MONROE
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º This is the first regular-season meeting between Auburn and UL-Monroe in women's basketball.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º ULM leads the series 1-0; the teams met in 1985 in the regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament with second-ranked Northeast Louisiana - the previous name of the school - defeated 10th-ranked Auburn 76-71 in Monroe.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º This is the second of eight games against teams from the state of Louisiana this season. Auburn is 1-0 so far with a 75-59 win over LA Tech on Nov. 19.

SCOUTING LOUISIANA-MONROE
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º ULM is 2-2 on the year but has not defeated a Division I team. The Warhawks have wins over a pair of Division III opponents, Centenary and Millsaps, but dropped road contest to Grambling and McNeese State.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Warhawks average 69.0 points/game and hold opponents to 55.0/game. Against the two Division I opponents, ULM has averaged 56.5 points and surrendered 63.0.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior Gabriella Cortez leads the Warhawks in most categories with 21.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. Cortez was a preseason All-Sun Belt second-team selection.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 3-3 through its first three games with wins over N.C. A&T, Louisiana Tech and Georgetown.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers are scoring 58.3 points/game while outrebounding opponents 39-34.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior point guard Janiah McKay has scored 15 or more points in four of Auburn's first six games, including matching a career-high with 29 vs. Louisiana Tech. She averaged 12.9 ppg last season, tops among returning players. She led the Tigers in scoring eight times last season and had her first career double-double with 13 points and 13 assists vs. Ole Miss.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior forwards Jazmine and Jessica Jones are the TIgers' other two returning starters. Jessica Jones is the team's leading returner in rebounds (5.2/game) and steals (1.4/game) and averaged 3.8 points last season. Jazmine Jones averaged 4.5 points and 4.3 rebounds last season and was a key component of Auburn's trademark pressure defense. Jessica pulled down 10 rebounds in a win over N.C. A&T.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Freshman Unique Thompson has been a breakout star in the Tigers' first few games, averaging 10.8 points and 10.0 rebounds. She had a double-double vs. Louisiana Tech to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior Emari Jones earned her first career start vs. North Carolina A&T on Nov. 16. She has averaged 3.8 points and 4.5 rebounds so far this year.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in all six games this season and has forced 25 or more twice (29 vs. LA Tech; 25 vs. Northwestern).

Looking Ahead

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn hits the road again for a Sunday showdown with Indiana. Game time is 1 p.m. from Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.; Big Ten Network Plus will have the broadcast.