Women's hoops on the road Thursday at No. 9 South Carolina

Jan. 10, 2018

AUBURN, Ala. -- The Auburn women's basketball team wraps up a stretch of three straight games against nationally ranked opponents Thursday night when the Tigers travel to Columbia, S.C., to face No. 9 South Carolina at 6 p.m. CT.

The Tigers (10-5, 1-2 SEC) have faced No. 7 Tennessee and No. 19 Texas A&M in their last two games, fighting valiantly before coming up just short in both contests. Last Thursday, Auburn and Tennessee were tied with less than two minutes to play before the Lady Vols pulled away for a 70-59 win in Knoxville. Then, on Sunday, Auburn was as close as five points late in the fourth quarter but saw Texas A&M shoot 57 percent in the final period to earn an 82-73 victory.

South Carolina (13-2, 2-1) is coming off its first SEC loss of the season as the Gamecocks fell at No. 15 Missouri 83-74 on Sunday. Carolina had won seven straight prior to that game; the defending national champions are 7-0 at home this season.

The two teams met twice during the 2016-17 season. Carolina earned a 73-47 win in Auburn on Jan. 5, then defeated the Tigers 60-41 in Columbia on Feb. 9. South Carolina has won seven straight meetings and holds a narrow 22-21 edge in the series that dates back to 1980.

Andy Burcham has the radio call with Brit Bowen in the studio on WTGZ 93.9 FM and online at AuburnTigers.com and TuneIn Radio. The game can be seen via SEC Network + with Burch Antley and Khadijah Sessions calling the action; SEC Network + is available online via WatchESPN or the ESPN app on mobile devices.

Auburn Quick Hitters

- This is the 44th meeting between Auburn and South Carolina in women's basketball
- South Carolina leads the all-time series 22-21, including an 11-7 advantage in Columbia
- The Gamecocks have won the last 7 meetings between the teams
- Auburn is playing its third straight game against a top-20 opponent (previous: at #7 Tennessee, vs. #19 Texas A&M)
- South Carolina won both meetings between the teams last year; 60-41 in Columbia on Feb. 9 was the last meeting
- Auburn was the last FBS school in the country to remain unbeaten at home this school year in football, men's basketball and women's basketball
- Auburn's loss to Texas A&M snapped an eight-game home winning streak
- Auburn ranks in the top 15 nationally in scoring defense (12th - 54.7); steals per game (3rd - 14.8); turnovers forced per game (3rd - 25.2) and turnover margin (3rd - +10.0).
- Auburn set a new school record by hitting 16-of-16 free throws in the game with Texas A&M (1/7)
- Going back to the Tennessee game on Jan. 4, Auburn has made 19 consecutive free throws
- The Tigers tied a school record for fewest turnovers with 5 vs. Florida on Dec. 31 while forcing the Gators into 28
- 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 14 of 15 games this season and 25+ turnovers in eight games
- Auburn has won 24 of its last 27 games when forcing at least 25 turnovers (6-2 this season)
- Junior point guard Janiah McKay is Auburn's top scorer with 16.2 points/game; she also leads team and ranks fourth in SEC in assists (4.9) and leads SEC in steals (3.0)
- McKay was 11-of-11 on free throws vs. Texas A&M (1/7), tying an Auburn record held by 3 other players
- McKay matched her career-high with 29 points vs. Louisiana Tech (11/19); also had 29 vs. UT and Alabama last year
- 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
- 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); she also had 21 vs. Florida (12/31)
- Alexander is second on the team with 13.9 points/game; she has scored in double-figures in 13 of 15 games
- Alexander is third in the SEC with 2.7 steals/game
- Alexander had a career-high 6 assists vs. Texas A&M (1/7)
- 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)

Last Time Out

>> Auburn got 25 points from Janiah McKay and 22 from Unique Thompson, but No. 19 Texas A&M had its second-best shooting game of the season in an 82-73 Aggie win at Auburn Arena.
>> The Tigers (10-5, 1-2 SEC) dropped their second straight SEC game to a nationally ranked foe as Texas A&M (13-4, 2-1) shot 55.8 percent from the field (29-of-52), their second-best outing of the season, and handed Auburn its first home loss of the year.
>> Auburn set a new school record at the free-throw line for most makes without a miss, hitting 16-of-16 attempts in the game. Going back to the Tennessee game, the Tigers have made 19 consecutive free throws.
>> McKay also tied a school record at the charity stripe, hitting 11-of-11 attempts to become the fourth player in Auburn history with that line. She joins Conswella Sparrow (1998 vs. Georgia), Lori Nero (2000 vs. Southwest Missouri State) and Sherell Hobbs (2009 vs. Stephen F. Austin) as the only Auburn players to go 11-for-11 at the free throw line. She finished the game with 25 points and matched a season-high with nine assists.

Noteworthy

A WIN OVER SOUTH CAROLINA WOULD...
>> Be Auburn's first win over a ranked opponent since defeating #16 Florida on Feb. 14, 2016.
>> Be Auburn's first road win over a ranked opponent since Feb. 13, 2014, at #16 Vanderbilt.
>> Be Auburn's first road win over a top-10 foe since Feb. 4, 2001, at #10 LSU.
>> Snap a 7-game losing streak to the Gamecocks.
>> Be Auburn's first win in Columbia since 2009.

AUBURN vs. SOUTH CAROLINA
>> South Carolina owns a narrow 22-21 edge over Auburn in the series that dates back to 1980. The Gamecocks are 11-7 in games played in Columbia.
>> The Gamecocks have won the last seven meetings dating back to the 2012-13 season. Carolina beat Auburn twice last year - 73-47 at Auburn and 60-41 in Columbia.

LAST MEETING (Feb. 9, 2017, in Columbia):
#6 SOUTH CAROLINA 60, AUBURN 41
>> Auburn held No. 6 South Carolina to its lowest scoring output of the season, but the Tigers came up short in a 60-41 loss to the Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena.
>> The Tigers could not overcome poor shooting through the first three quarters, and avoided a season-low shooting percentage by posting a 71-percent fourth quarter. Meanwhile, South Carolina took advantage of their massive edge in size, scoring 34 of its 60 points in the paint.
>> Katie Frerking led the Tigers with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Freshman Tyra Johnson added a career-high 10 points on a career-most 19 minutes, hitting a pair of 3-pointers as well. Seven of Auburn's 14 made field goals were 3-pointers. The Tigers' bench scored 19 points as Tiffany Lewis added five and Emari Jones had four.

SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
>> South Carolina is 13-2 overall, 2-1 in SEC play. The Gamecocks are the defending national champions and have won the last four SEC regular-season titles.
>> The Gamecocks average 82.9 points/game and are holding opponents to 58.1. Carolina is the top-shooting team in the league, shooting 49.8% from the floor.
>> A'ja Wilson, the defending SEC Player of the Year, leads the SEC in scoring with 23.5 points/game. She is also tops in the league in blocked shots (3.2/game) and third in the SEC in rebounding with 11.1 boards/game. Sophomore point guard Tyasha Harris is the SEC's leader in assists at 6.7/game.

SCOUTING AUBURN
>> Auburn is 10-5 on the season, 1-2 SEC, coming off an 82-73 loss to No. 19 Texas A&M Sunday. The Tigers are facing their third straight top-20 opponent; Auburn played at No. 7 Tennessee last Thursday.
>> The Tigers are scoring 65.5 points per game while holding opponents to an SEC-best 54.7. Auburn's scoring defense ranks 12th nationally.
>> Junior point guard Janiah McKay has scored in double-figures in 14 of the Tigers' 15 games, including matching a career-high with 29 vs. Louisiana Tech. She also leads the SEC in steals (3.0/game) and is fourth in assists (4.9/game).
>> Freshman Unique Thompson has been a breakout star, twice earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors while averaging 11.8 points and 9.1 rebounds. She has four double-doubles on the season, including three straight vs. ULL, Southern and Southeastern La. She had her best SEC game against Texas A&M with 22 points and 9 rebounds.
>> Senior forward Jazmine Jones is averaging 5.9 points/game. She had a season-high 9 rebounds vs. Texas A&M.
>> 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 scored a career-high 18 points vs. Florida and is averaging 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds.
>> Sophomore Daisa Alexander has been another breakout star, averaging 13.9 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. She added 21 points in the win over Florida and 17 vs. Texas A&M.
>> Auburn has forced at least 20 turnovers in 14 of 15 games this season and has forced 25 or more eight times (29 vs. LA Tech; 25 vs. Northwestern, 35 vs. ULM; 26 vs. Southern; 31 vs. SE Louisiana; 30 vs. XULA; 28 vs. Florida; 28 at Tennessee).

Looking Ahead

>> The Tigers return home on Sunday, Jan. 14, to face Arkansas. Game time is 4 p.m. CT at Auburn Arena with the broadcast on SEC Network.