Auburn women wrap non-conference play vs. Xavier (La.)

Dec. 27, 2017

AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Auburn wraps up the non-conference portion of the 2017-18 women's basketball season Thursday night as Xavier University of Louisiana visits Auburn Arena for a 6 p.m. tip.

It's Dollar Night at Auburn Arena - all general admission tickets for Thursday's game are just $1.00. Auburn's players will also sign autographs for fans on the court immediately following the game.

The Tigers (8-3) look to finish off non-conference play on a six-game winning streak; the Tigers have won five straight coming into Thursday night. Auburn's last time out, the Tigers earned an 80-46 win over Southeastern Louisiana just before breaking for Christmas. Freshman Unique Thompson has three straight double-doubles coming into Thursday's game and four total for the season.

XULA (4-6), an NAIA school in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, is playing its third Division I opponent of the season. The Gold Nuggets dropped an exhibition to Louisiana-Lafayette in November and fell to New Orleans on Dec. 14.

Andy Burcham will have the radio call on WTGZ 93.9 FM beginning at 5:45 p.m. Fans can listen online at AuburnTigers.com or via the official Auburn Tigers app for mobile devices. The game will be televised on SEC Network + with Rod Bramblett and Joe Ciampi on the call; the broadcast can be seen online via WatchESPN or the ESPN app.

Promotions

- Dollar Night - All general admission tickets are just $1.00!
- Postgame Autographs on Court

Auburn Quick Hitters

- This is the first meeting between Auburn and Xavier (La.)
- This marks Auburn's first regular-season game against a non-Division I opponent since the 2000-01 season (Puerto Rico-Mayaguez) and first NAIA opponent since 1995-96 (AUM)
- Auburn is 5-0 against the state of Louisiana this season and plays eight total games this season against teams from the Pelican State
- Auburn is 64-29 all-time against the state of Louisiana and has won 9 of its last 10
- Auburn ranks in the top 10 nationally in scoring defense (6th - 51.8); steals per game (3rd - 15.1); turnovers forced per game (5th - 24.9) and turnover margin (7th - +8.3).
- Auburn forced a season-high 35 turnovers vs. UL-Monroe, second-most under Williams-Flournoy and 8th-most in Auburn history
- Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in all 11 games this season and 25+ turnovers in five games
- Auburn has won 22 of its last 24 games when forcing at least 25 turnovers (4-1 this season)
- Junior point guard Janiah McKay is Auburn's top scorer with 15.1 points/game; she also leads team and ranks third in SEC in assists (5.2) and second in steals (3.1)
- McKay matched her career-high with 29 points vs. Louisiana Tech (11/19); also had 29 vs. UT and Alabama last year
- McKay had a career-high 8 rebounds vs. North Carolina A&T (11/16)
- 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 earned a second SEC Freshman of the Week nod after back-to-back double-doubles vs. UL-Lafayette and Southern; her 29 points at ULL was a career-high and the second-most ever by an Auburn freshman
- Thompson has 4 double-doubles this season: LA Tech (16/14), ULL (29/12), Southern (18/10), SE Louisiana (10/11)
- 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 missed two games with injury suffered vs. Northwestern (11/25), returned to lineup at Indiana (12/3)
- Sophomore Daisa Alexander scored a career-high 19 points in the season opener at Virginia Tech (11/13); then topped that career-high with 25 points at Indiana (12/3)
- Alexander is second on the team with 12.9 points/game; she has scored in double-figures in nine of 11 games
- McKay and Alexander rank second and third, respectively, in the SEC in steals; McKay averages 3.1, Alexander 2.5
- 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 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

Last Time Out

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Senior Tiffany Lewis led four players in double figures as the Auburn women's basketball team earned an 80-46 win over Southeastern Louisiana Tuesday night at Auburn Arena.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers (8-3) head into the Christmas break on a five-game win streak with their largest point total of the season. Auburn forced Southeastern Louisiana (1-9) into 31 turnovers, turning those into 34 points -- which proved to be the winning margin.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Lewis scored 15 points, her most in two seasons at Auburn, to lead the Tigers. She was 5-of-9 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Lewis also had three rebounds and two steals.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Freshman Unique Thompson picked up her third straight double-double and fourth of the season with 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore Daisa Alexander added 14 points, and junior Janiah McKay had 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 5 assists.

Noteworthy

AUBURN vs. XAVIER (LA.)
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn and Xavier have never met in women's basketball.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Tonight's game counts as a regular-season contest for Auburn but as an exhibition for Xavier.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º This is Auburn's first regular-season game against a non-Division I opponent since 2000-01 against Puerto Rico-Mayaguez.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn's last regular-season game against an NAIA opponent came on Dec. 14, 1995, against AU-Montgomery.

SCOUTING XULA
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Xavier is 6-4 on the season and has split its last four games. The Gold Nuggets went 1-1 in their home tournament just before Christmas, defeating the University of the Virgin Islands 76-30 before falling to 9th-ranked Lindsey Wilson 69-60.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Gold Nuggets average 59.9 points/game but hold their opponents to 58.9 points/game. Much like Auburn, XULA forces opponent turnovers in bunches; they have forced 24.6/game this season.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Essence Wells leads XULA with 10.7 points/game. Gina Smith is the Gold Nuggets' leading rebounder with 6.2 per game.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º XULA was picked to finish 2nd in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.

SCOUTING AUBURN
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn is 8-3 on the season, coming off an 80-46 victory over Southeastern Louisiana just before the Christmas break.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º The Tigers are scoring 63.4 points per game while holding opponents to an SEC-best 51.8. Auburn's scoring defense ranks 6th nationally.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior point guard Janiah McKay has scored in double-figures in 10 of the Tigers' 11 games, including matching a career-high with 29 vs. Louisiana Tech. She also ranks second in the SEC in steals (3.0/game) and third in assists (5.2/game).
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Freshman Unique Thompson has been a breakout star, twice earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors while averaging 12.9 points and 9.7 rebounds. She had a double-double vs. Louisiana Tech to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
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, and Jazmine matched a career-high with five steals vs. ULM.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Junior Emari Jones earned her first career start vs. North Carolina A&T on Nov. 16 and has remained in the lineup ever since. She has averaged 4.3 points and 3.6 rebounds so far this year.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Sophomore Daisa Alexander has been another breakout star, averaging 12.9 points off the bench. In just 20 minutes vs. Indiana, she scored a career-high 25 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter to help Auburn pull away.
ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in all 11 games this season and has forced 25 or more five times (29 vs. LA Tech; 25 vs. Northwestern, 35 vs. ULM; 26 vs. Southern; 31 vs. SE Louisiana).

Looking Ahead

ÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬ºÃƒÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬º Southeastern Conference play tips off on New Year's Eve as the Florida Gators visit Auburn Arena at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 31. The game is nationally televised on ESPN2.